Flavored milk is a sweetened

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

drink made with

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

flavoring A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive that is used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of ...

s, and sometimes

food coloring Food coloring, color additive or colorant is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or beverages. Colorants can be supplied as liquids, powders, gels, or pastes. Food coloring is commonly used in commercia ...

s. It may be sold as a pasteurized, refrigerated product, or as an ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treated product not requiring refrigeration. It may also be made in restaurants or homes by mixing flavorings into milk. Strawberry Milk in a glass cup

In New England, milk blended with flavored syrups such as chocolate or strawberry in a milkshake machine, is commonly called a "milkshake"; in other parts of the United States, a

milkshake A milkshake (sometimes simply called a shake) is a sweet beverage made by blending milk, ice cream, and flavorings or sweeteners such as butterscotch, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, or fruit syrup into a thick, sweet, cold mixture. It may ...

always includes

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

or thickeners.

Types

Common flavourings include

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

malted milk Malted milk or malt powder or malted milk powder, is a powder made from a mixture of malted barley, wheat flour, and Milk powder, evaporated whole milk powder. The powder is used to add its distinctive flavor to beverages and other foods, but i ...

, vanilla, strawberry and banana. Commercial brand flavours include Horlicks, Nesquik and Milo. Bottled spiced ( masala) milk is a popular beverage in the Indian subcontinent.

Consumption

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

has the highest consumption of flavored milk in the world, drinking more than the per capita figure for any other country in 2003. It is particularly popular in the Australian states of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. A 2013 ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' article reported Western Australia was the "flavoured milk capital of Australia," with a A$220-million industry, average consumption of per person, and more than 40 varieties of

iced coffee Iced coffee is a coffee beverage served cold. It may be prepared either by brewing coffee normally (i.e. carafe, French press, etc.) and then serving it over ice or in cold milk or by cold brew coffee, brewing the coffee cold. In hot brewing, sw ...

alone available. Similarly, a 2006 '' Adelaide Advertiser'' reported South Australia consumed of flavored milk each year, with 82% of market share held by a single brand, Farmers Union. According to Coca-Cola Amatil, one of the largest bottlers in the Asia-Pacific region, South Australia is the only place where sales of flavored milk outstrip those of cola.

Controversy and criticism

Jamie Oliver, host of '' Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution'', brought attention in the United States to public schools that serve flavored milk in the school cafeterias. Flavored milk advocates claim that many children will avoid the nutrition found in milk unless it has been flavored, with the benefits of milk outweighing a few teaspoons of sugar. Opponents say that with rising levels of obesity and heart disease, flavored milk should be removed from schools and children should be taught to drink plain milk. A 2018 analysis of more than 90 popular chilled flavored dairy milks revealed that a carton of flavored milk can contain as much sugar as a can of soft drink, with many of the bestselling brands containing more than a day's worth of

added sugar Added sugars or free sugars are sugar carbohydrates (caloric sweeteners) added to food and beverages at some point before their consumption. These include added carbohydrates ( monosaccharides and disaccharides), and more broadly, sugars nat ...

in a single serving. Recently, there have been limited new regulations introduced to safeguard children's meals. The latest policy, known as the fourth state-level Healthy Beverage Default law (HBD), aims to restrict sugary beverage options in children's meals. However, it has been found ineffective in reducing children's sugar intake. Despite efforts in various U.S. states like Illinois and Delaware to regulate flavored milk and 100% juice, there are still variations in fat content, size restrictions, and calorie limitations for children.

References

External links

*
National Dairy Council-Flavored Milk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flavored Milk

Types

Consumption

Controversy and criticism

See also

References

External links