The role of the Milk Marketing Board in marketing

While the role and constitution of the Milk Marketing Board may dgfer in some respects from that of other producer co-operatives, there is little doubt that it is a producer-controlled and financed body acting like a co-operative. The possible reasons for the Boards emergence and its history in four phases are discussed. The marketing role is outlined with particular reference to its recent and significant commercial involvement in processing. The conclusion is drawn that the marketing role and aims are largely identical with those of other producer dairy co-operatives in the EEC and elsewhere .     

Subject: Milk utilization on the farm Understanding regulations - the needs of the market place and the Milk Marketing Board

THE MMBS role and the philosophy behind the market and MMB requirements for producers wishing to become producer-retailers, producer-processors or producer-manufacturers is explored. While the main conditions are described, the need for adequate planning of any retail business venture is stressed. The marketing considerations suggest it is appropriate to conduct market research and to be aware of the possible effects of competition. The MMB can provide practical help and advice in arriving at a balanced business decision.     

Innovation and the pursuit of excellence: a history of milk marketing in Northern Ireland 1934–1995

This is the last article in a trilogy published by the Society to mark the replacement of thefive statutory milk marketing boards in the United Kingdom by voluntary milk marketing co-operatives. In the August 1998 issue of the Journal (Vol 51, No 3, pp 77–85) John Empson gave a comprehensive account of the history, achievements and demise of the Milk Marketing Board in England and Wales in a changing political context common to all five boards. Dr Donald McQueen followed with an article on the three milk marketing boards in Scotland published in the November issue (Vol 51, No 4, pp 113–119). The present article concerns the long lead-up to, and the subsequent history of, a board that was responsible for the marketing of ex-farm milk in Northern Ireland from 1 April 1955 till 28 February 1995. The author was chief executive ofthat board from 1 October 1963 till 30 April 1988, having previously served for five years as its chief chemist. In retirement he has been delving deeply into the earlier history of the industry and recalling some of the experiences ofhis own time in milk marketing.     

The Wearing of the Red: The Redcoat and the British Brand

Abstract

As a concept, the idea of product branding offers insights into the history of uniform in Britain. The creation of a brand, by which a product is understood and recognised by its name, fits the cultural history of the red coat, that part of his uniform by which the British infantryman was known for over three hundred years.

While the earliest references to the redcoat in this context occur in the sixteenth century, it is really from the eighteenth century onwards that the term becomes widely employed to denote the soldier. However, a review of royal portraiture in Britain from the late seventeenth century onwards also reveals that monarchs used the red coat as a way of uniting the ideals of patriotism with the monarch — a device that was particularly important for the Hanoverian dynasty.

Both literature and the visual arts helped identify the red coat as a synonym for the soldier. Numerous references may be adduced, from Jane Austen writing of polite society, to Rudyard Kipling's Tommy. Lady Elizabeth Butler was perhaps the most famous artist to depict red-coated heroes in battles, which marked the defence or development of the Empire.     

The history of the discovery of the cigarette-lung cancer link: evidentiary traditions, corporate denial, global toll

Lung cancer was once a very rare disease, so rare that doctors took special notice when confronted with a case, thinking it a once-in-a-lifetime oddity. Mechanisation and mass marketing towards the end of the 19th century popularised the cigarette habit, however, causing a global lung cancer epidemic. Cigarettes were recognised as the cause of the epidemic in the 1940s and 1950s, with the confluence of studies from epidemiology, animal experiments, cellular pathology and chemical analytics. Cigarette manufacturers disputed this evidence, as part of an orchestrated conspiracy to salvage cigarette sales. Propagandising the public proved successful, judging from secret tobacco industry measurements of the impact of denialist propaganda. As late as 1960 only one-third of all US doctors believed that the case against cigarettes had been established. The cigarette is the deadliest artefact in the history of human civilisation. Cigarettes cause about 1 lung cancer death per 3 or 4 million smoked, which explains why the scale of the epidemic is so large today. Cigarettes cause about 1.5 million deaths from lung cancer per year, a number that will rise to nearly 2 million per year by the 2020s or 2030s, even if consumption rates decline in the interim. Part of the ease of cigarette manufacturing stems from the ubiquity of high-speed cigarette making machines, which crank out 20,000 cigarettes per min. Cigarette makers make about a penny in profit for every cigarette sold, which means that the value of a life to a cigarette maker is about US$10,000.     

The Effect of Inclusion of Naked Oats in the Concentrate Offered to Dairy Cows on Milk Production,Milk Fat Composition and Properties

Dairy cows in early or mid-lactation were offered naked oats- or barley-based concentrates in addition to ad libitum access to grass silage in a continuous design experiment of 10 weeks duration. Concentrates were formulated on an isonitrogenous basis and contained either 500 g barley or 565 g naked oats kg⁻¹ concentrates as the principal energy source in the concentrate. Concentrate type had no effect on silage intake, milk yield or milk protein concentration. However, nitrogen and modified acid detergent fibre digestibility were significantly reduced by inclusion of naked oats and this was reflected in a significant reduction in milk fat concentration. Milk fat from early lactation cows on the naked oats diet contained the highest proportion of unsaturated and the lowest proportion of saturated fatty acids. Sensory and instrumental analyses determined that this milk fat produced the softest, most spreadable butter. This was supported by solid fat content results. The degree of change in milk fat composition due to diet was similar irrespective of stage of lactation but milk fat compositions with the control treatment differed with stage of lactation. Dietary effects were established by the end of the first week of the trial and persisted for the 10-week trial period.     

Activity of ε–Polylysine Against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes

ABSTRACT: ε–polylysine is a homopolymer of L-lysine, an essential amino acid, with a reportedly wide antimicrobial spectrum. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of ε–polylysine, as compared with known preservatives and organic acids, against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes , in culture broth. The compounds tested included ε–polylysine (0.0025% to 0.05%), sodium diacetate (0.25%), sodium lactate (3.0%), lactic acid (0.1%), and acetic acid (0.1%), alone, as well as in combination with ε– polylysine (0.0025% to 0.03%); all treatments were evaluated in tryptic soy broth supplemented with 0.6% yeast extract. Treatments were inoculated (approximately 2 log colony-forming units [CFU]/mL) with 5-strain ( E. coli O157:H7, S. Typhimurium) or 10-strain ( L. monocytogenes ) mixtures of the pathogens. Survival/growth of the inoculated bacteria was periodically monitored during incubation at 4 °C (30 d) and 24 °C (48 h). Bactericidal effects of ε–polylysine were obtained against E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium at 4 °C. At the same temperature (4 °C), ε–polylysine alone or in combination with other compounds tested inhibited growth or was bactericidal against L. monocytogenes. All 3 pathogens were inhibited by ε–polylysine at 24 °C; however, L. monocytogenes was the most sensitive and S. Typhimurium the most resistant. The antimicrobial activity of ε–polylysine against E. coli O157:H7 and S. Typhimurium was enhanced ( P < 0.05) when tested in combination with sodium diacetate or acetic acid. Combination treatments with sodium lactate resulted in loss of ε–polylysine activity by the end of the incubation period. Overall, under the conditions of this study, ε–polylysine exhibited antimicrobial effects against the 3 pathogens tested.     

陕西奶业生产现状、问题及发展趋势与关键技术

本文阐述了近几年来陕西奶业的发展现状、存在的问题和向高产、优质、高效、低耗的集约化方向发展的趋势,并指出了今后发展亟待解决的关键技术,对陕西奶业乃至全国奶业的协调发展具有一定的指导意义.     

历史的轮回钢市行情再度重演

2005年国内钢市所发生的一幕幕，至今仍铭刻在很多人的记忆中。那一年由于国家对钢铁行业的调控力度加大，加之钢铁新增产能的释放速度加快．国内钢材市场行情大幅下滑，其下跌幅度之大，持续时间之久，均为2000年钢市回升以来之最，令整个钢铁行业业绩大缩，     

The Effective Factors on the Structure of Butter and Other Milk Fat‐Based Products

Butter and other milk fat‐based products are valuable products for the dairy industry due to their unique taste, their textural characteristics, and nutritional value. However, an increased consumer demand for low‐fat‐based products increases the need for an increased essential understanding of the effective factors governing the structure of milk fat‐based products. Today, 2 manufacturing techniques are available: the churning method and the emulsification method. The first is typically used for production of butter with a globular structure, which has become increasingly popular to obtain low‐fat‐based products, typically without presence of milk fat globules. The microstructure of milk fat‐based products is strongly related to their structural rheology, hence applications. Structural behavior is not determined by one single parameter, but by the interactions between many. This complexity is reviewed here. Parameters such as thermal treatment of cream prior to butter making, water content, and chemical composition influence not only crystal polymorphism, but also the number and sizes of fat crystals. The number of crystal–crystal interactions formed within the products is related to product hardness. During storage, however, postcrystallization increases the solid fat content and strengthens the fat crystal network. The fat crystal network is strengthened by the formation of more and stronger crystal–crystal interactions due to mechanically interlinking of fat crystals, which occurs during crystal growth. Postcrystallization is directly linked to chemical composition. The initially observed microstructural difference causing different rheological behavior will disappear during storage due to postcrystallization and formation of more crystal–crystal interactions.     

Preferences and determinants for organic, conventional and conventional-plus products – The case of occasional organic consumers

As a result of continuous growth in the organic market, organic food is increasingly available in conventional retail outlets, where organic products are placed alongside both conventional and so called conventional-plus products. Conventional-plus products are food products with particular attributes that also apply to organic products, such as ‘no artificial additives or flavours’. This overlap provokes the question whether conventional-plus products might compete with organic products.The aim of our study was to identify occasional organic consumers’ preferences and underlying determinants in relation to organic, conventional and conventional-plus milk, fruit yoghurt and apples in Germany and Switzerland. To achieve these objectives, we conducted purchase simulations combined with face-to-face interviews. The data were analysed using contingency tables and multinomial logit models.In the purchase simulations, a large proportion of consumers who usually buy conventional products switched to conventional-plus products. This indicates that conventional-plus products compete with conventional rather than with organic products. Consumer attitudes towards the attributes ‘from pasture-raised cows’, ‘no preventive use of antibiotics’, ‘no use of genetically modified organisms’, ‘organic production’, ‘domestic production’ and ‘higher price for higher quality’ determined their preferences for organic, conventional and conventional-plus products. Differences in attitudes between organic and conventional buyers were generally larger than those between conventional-plus and conventional buyers.