Dairy Products Prices Highlights

Butter prices received for 25 kilogram and 68 pound boxes meeting United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Grade AA standards averaged $1.62 per pound for the week ending Dec. 10. The United States (US) price per pound decreased 0.4 cent from the previous week.

Cheddar Cheese prices received for US 40 pound blocks averaged $1.86 per pound for the week. The price per pound decreased 2.0 cents from the previous week. The price for US 500 pound barrels adjusted to 38 percent moisture averaged $1.83 per pound, down 8.0 cents from the previous week.

Dry Whey prices received for bag, tote, and tanker sales meeting USDA Extra Grade standards averaged 65.4 cents per pound for the week. The US price per pound increased 0.7 cent from the previous week.

Nonfat Dry Milk prices received for bag, tote, and tanker sales meeting USDA Extra Grade or United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Grade A standards averaged $1.44 per pound for the week. The US price per pound decreased slightly from the previous week.

Read the entire report on the NASS website.

Dairy Foods

Dunkin' Donutsintroduced the Texas Toast Grilled Cheese Sandwich which is made with two slices of American cheese and one slice of white cheddar cheese melted between two pieces of thick-cut Texas Toast and served oven-toasted. It can be ordered with bacon or ham. The sandwich is the newest addition to the chain's menu of made-to-order sandwiches.

Fair Oaks Dairy Products, LLC, Fair Oaks, Ind,, on Dec. 3 issued a voluntary recall of certain one-half pound retail packaged cheeses and cheese gift boxes produced under the Fair Oaks Farms Fine Cheese label and sold between Sept. 30 and Dec. 3. These cheeses have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The cheeses were sold at the Fair Oaks Dairy store in Northwest Indiana, to other stores directly, and through distributors primarily in Northern and Central Indiana and Northeast Illinois. One store in Sulphur Springs, Texas area also has received the product.
Consumers with questions may contact Customer Service at 847-884-000 or at 630-673-5200 if calling after 11 p.m EST. The lines will be answered twenty four hours per day, seven days a week.
Founded in 2004, Fair Oaks Dairy Products is a producer of dairy products, including milk, ice cream, cheese and butter based in Northwest Indiana

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Golden Glen Creamery, Bow, Wash., voluntarily recalled butter produced on Nov. 2 because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes No illnesses have been reported as of Dec. 3.
Four-ounce packages of Herbes de Provence Butter were available at the Whole Foods Market in Redmond, Wash., and packages of NW Mushroom Trio Butter were available at the Whole Foods Market in Redmond and at various metropolitan market locations in Washington.  Products were distributed between 11/7/11 and 11/28/11 and are in circulation to date.
The product is sold in 4-ounce plastic round containers with tamper-evident seals.  The top label on the products has a three-digit code “767.”  
 

Dairy People

Carmine C. Catalana III, chairman of the board of Cumberland Dairy, Rosenhayn, N.J., died Dec. 8, 2011 at the age of  81. Under his direction, Cumberland Dairy grew from a small, local dairy to one of the largest producers of specialty dairy products on the East Coast, according to a tribute on the company's website. Under his leadership in the 1980s, Cumberland was one of the first dairies to install an ultra-high temperature pasteurization system that gave products a longer shelf-life. Today the processor has one of the world’s largest direct injection systems for producing aseptic milk. Mr. Catalana served on the board of directors of the New Jersey Food Processors Association, and was a trustee for the New Jersey Milk Association. He is survived by his wife, Terry; five children, Carmine IV, Frank, Michael, David and Maria; and 13 grandchildren. 

Rita's Franchise Co. appointed Jonathan Fornaci  president and chief executive officer. The company is the owner of Rita's Italian Ice (www.ritasice.com), the nation's largest Italian Ice concept with more than 550 locations in 18 states. Fornaci most recently served as president of Straw Hat Pizza, a California-based franchise company.

 11 Good Reasons To Eat, Drink Dairy Products

In 2011 there has been an abundance of published research from world renowned nutritional scientists and universities, revealing the health benefits of dairy, says Donald Moore, executive director of the Global Dairy Platform, Rosemont, Ill.. Here are 11:

1. According to a U.S. study published in February's Current Nutrition and Food Science, milk provides necessary nutrients without adversely impacting body weight in children and adolescents.(1)
2. In Australia, researchers found that consumption of low-fat dairy may help decrease the risk for elevated blood pressure and, regardless of fat content, fluid dairy foods are associated with a reduced risk of elevated blood pressure.(2)
3. A French study found a lower incidence of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and abnormal levels of fasting blood glucose was associated with higher consumption of dairy products and calcium.(3)
4. Researchers in Sweden studied more than 15,000 women and found that high-fat diets (including yogurt and regular milk), are associated with a reduced risk of invasive breast cancer.(4)
5. Researchers in Australia found that dairy food consumption is not associated with weight gain in children and adults. The review was published in the July Obesity Reviews.(5)
6. In Canada, researchers found that women who consumed at least two servings of dairy per day had smaller visceral fat cells compared with women consuming less than two daily servings.(6)
7. A May study revealed that dairy intake was not associated with increased heart attack risk in more than 3,000 Costa Rican adults.(7)
8. A study of premenopausal African-American women revealed that consuming low-fat and fat-free dairy products may be associated with a lower percent of body fat.(8)
9. A Swedish study found that a higher intake of dairy products is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.(9)
10. In Japan, a breakfast that included milk protein was shown to reduce visceral fat by approximately 15%, versus a breakfast that included soy protein that showed no change in fat.(10)
11. In October, a Danish study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that cheese does not seem to increase plasma total and LDL-cholesterol concentrations.(11)

To search for food based guidelines that may include dairy recommendations, visit the FAO Food Guidelines by Country website: www.fao.org/ag/humannutrition/nutritioneducation/fbdg/en.

Founded in 2006, Global Dairy Platform (GDP) is an international organization that connects CEOs, executives, researchers and dairy industry advocates from corporations, communication and scientific bodies to collaborate on worldwide dairy issues. Visit www.globaldairyplatform.com for more information.

Dairy Calendar

HACCP Short Course – Randolph Associates, Inc.

• January 23-25, 2012 – Ontario, CA
• April 16-18, 2012 – Columbus, OH

Contact:  barbara.jackman@raiconsult.com, 205-595-6455, ext. 229

Implementing SQF 2000 Systems – Randolph Associates, Inc.

• January 25-27, 2012 – Ontario, CA
• April 18-20, 2012 – Columbus, OH

Contact:  barbara.jackman@raiconsult.com, 205-595-6455, ext. 229

Dairy Technology Workshop – Randolph Associates, Inc.

• March 26-29, 2012 - Birmingham, AL

Contact:  kristy.clark@raiconsult.com,  205-595-6455, ext. 224

Pasteurization Workshop – Randolph Associates, Inc.

• May 7–10, 2012 – Murfreesboro, TN

Contact:  kristy.clark@raiconsult.com, 205-595-6455, ext. 224