Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

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Dairy Products Evaluation Team

In October, Virginia Tech's Dairy Products Evaluation Team competed in the 2007 Dairy Evaluation Collegiate Contest in Las Vegas , Nevada . Twenty teams from the United States and Canada participated in the contest.

Elaine Gu, Qin Li and Cristian Samperio made up Virginia Tech's undergraduate team. Emma Buck (Ph.D. candidate, FST) participated as a graduate student. The team placed 13 th overall and came in third in milk. Elaine Gu placed 8 th in Cheddar cheese and 13 th in milk. Cristian Samperio came in 18 th in milk and 20 th in yogurt, and Qin Li placed 15 th in milk. This was a great achievement, considering that 60 undergraduate students participated in the contest.

This was the first year that Walter Hartman (Dairy Pilot Plant Manager, FST) coached the team. Brian Stanek (Ph.D. candidate, FST) served as the assistant coach. The team put forth a great effort this year and placed very well.

The contest is designed to help students learn practical information about the relationship of sensory characteristics in dairy products to raw milk quality, processing, packaging, and quality changes occurring from spoilage. The contest involves evaluating 6 dairy product categories; Milk, Cottage Cheese, Strawberry Yogurt, Cheddar Cheese, Butter, and Vanilla Ice Cream. These products are first certified by industry judges for quality. The college coaches and industry judges then discuss the scores and come to a consensus. The students then have to try to match the official evaluations.

The team was sponsored this year by Food Processing Suppliers Association, American Dairy Science Association and the USDA. Our Virginia Dairies also were very supportive, with generous donations of money, product samples, and coupons.

The team learned a lot this year and hopes to improve their ranking in next year's competition.

HOT TOPICS AND DAIRY ISSUES

  Organic versus Conventional Milk

Organic classification is not a judgement about the quality or safety of any product. According to USDA, milk and milk products can be labeled “organic” if the milk is from cows that have been fed only organic feed. Cows must be kept in pens with adequate space and allowed periodic access to the outdoors and direct sunlight. Also, cows cannot be treated with synthetic hormones and certain medications to treat illness. For feed to be classified as organic, it must be harvested from fields that have adhered to USDA's organic regulations for pesticides (insecticides and herbicides) and fertilizers for at least three years.

In 2006, organic milk accounted for about 2% of all packaged milk sales in the United States . It is more expensive than regular milk because it is costly for dairy farmers to follow the government standards that are required to receive the “certified-organic” label.

Organic farmers are not allowed to retain any cow treated with antibiotics, but conventional farmers will remove a sick cow, treat it and return it to the herd once it is healthy and its milk tests antibiotic free. Conventional dairy cows are not routinely treated with antibiotics. They are treated with antibiotics only when they are ill. Every tanker load of milk – from organic or regular dairy farms – is tested for antibiotics. If antibiotic residues are found the milk is discarded and never reaches the market. The result is a major financial loss for the farmer; therefore, dairy farmers take all necessary precautions to keep milk free of any contaminant.

Conventional dairy farmers may use synthetic bovine somatotropin (rbST) as a supplement for their cows to increase milk production. When marketers mention hormones on their packaging, they are explaining whether the dairy farmer uses the supplemental hormone. BST is naturally present in many foods, including milk. There is no significant difference in hormone content of organic and conventional milk. Extensive studies have concluded that all milk – including milk from animals supplemented with rbST – is the same safe and wholesome product that has been enjoyed for generations. There is no scientific evidence that hormones in milk increase the likelihood of early onset of puberty in young girls. Some research suggests that increasing rates of childhood obesity may be responsible for higher rates of early puberty in U.S. girls. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics found that body fatness during childhood was associated with earlier onset of puberty in girls (J. Lee, et al. Pediatrics. 2007, p. 119).

Organic milk and regular milk are equally nutritious. Each serving offers the same amount of nine essential nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and potassium. There is no scientific evidence that organic dairy products are safer than regular dairy products. All milk must comply with very stringent safety standards. Milk and dairy products are among the most highly regulated and safest foods on the shelf.

Some believe that dairy products from grass-fed cows are more nutritious than those from grain-fed cows. Researchers all over the world are continually investigating how cows' diets can be adjusted to produce different combinations of nutrients. Some studies have found slight increases in the vitamin E, omega-3 fats, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content of milk when cows consume certain types of grass and clover, but as yet, there is no evidence that these increases would impact human health. Organic labeling standards do not require cows on organic farms to be grass-fed. In fact very few cows, organic or conventional, are grass-fed in the United States . This is one of the many choices a farmer can make about their animals' diets.

Some consumers purchase organic milk because they believe it helps support the small family farm. However, there are large and small farms in both the conventional and organic categories. Organic farming has more to do with farming practices than with the size of the farm itself. Of the 60,000-plus dairy farms in America today, the majority are smaller farms with less than 200 cows. And the vast majority of U.S. dairy farms, both large and small, are family owned and operated.

Is organic milk fresher than regular milk? Most milk, including organic milk, is delivered to stores within a few days of milking. With modern distribution systems, both types of milk may travel hundreds of miles from farm to retail outlet. Dairy farmers and processors work diligently to provide fresh milk to the marketplace. Does organic milk taste different? The taste of milk, regardless of whether it is organically or conventionally produced, can differ slightly from bottle to bottle and from season to season. Factors that may impact taste include location of the farm, breed of the cow, variations in the cows' feed from farm to farm, and even the time of year. Milk that is ultra-pasteurized for longer shelf life may also have a slightly different taste.

Adapted from The Virginia Dairyman; October, 2007.