Dairy Foods Columnists

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“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.” Our ovate friend was talking to Alice in Lewis Carroll’s “Through The Looking-Glass.”

The dairy industry is an innovative field, always working to meet or anticipate consumer needs and adjust products and manufacturing practices to suit the marketplace. So, it comes as no surprise that we are already considering the cheeses of the future.

Greek introductions continue to dominate growth in the yogurt category, but the other cultured segment to watch is drinkable yogurt. Volume sales in 2012 were 211 million pints and the latest IRI data for 2013 showed yogurt drinks experiencing double-digit growth in the United States.

Prebiotics have recently received a plethora of press in the food industry news. Manufacturers of prebiotic ingredients are promoting the “prebiotic properties,” “prebiotic functionality” and “prebiotic benefits” of their products. Writers are touting the “prebiotic effects” of isolated ingredients from novel sources such as spirulina, spruce trees, Yacon root, yams, agave and Jerusalem artichokes.

An industry group is at work to fix a broken milk powder price-discovery process that is resulting in damaging volatility, lost competitiveness and eroding global market share.

June is Dairy Month. It’s a good time to educate the public about cutting-edge research that supports the role of milk, cheese, yogurt and dairy ingredients in a healthy diet and a healthy environment.

Food safety is receiving a significant amount of attention. This puts more emphasis on the transport portion for the producer-to-market cycle.

A nutrition group touts the health benefits of yogurt and a dairy organization shares evidence of the industry’s diminishing carbon footprint.