Sharjah puts goodness of milk back into children's diet
Campaign will spread awareness among families and schools
Sharjah: Authorities launched a two-month campaign yesterday to boost the consumption of milk in Sharjah, thereby stressing the importance of healthy eating habits.
"Our mission here is to raise the awareness of healthy eating habits, especially in schools where breakfast is served that should include milk and dairy products," Shaikh Mohammad Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Assistant Undersecretary and Director of Sharjah Medical District, said.
The campaign, held under the slogan ‘Goodness of Dairy', was launched with the collaboration of Sharjah Education Zone, Sharjah Municipality and the dairy cooperative, Friesland Campina.
The campaign will continue until World Milk Day on June 1. "We chose to have a longer campaign to educate families and help them rediscover [the benefits of] milk and its nutrients," Sumeet Mathur, regional marketing director, Friesland Campina Middle East, said at a symposium yesterday.
Milk and its derivative products are a rich source of dietary calcium, but also provide protein, phosphorous as well as vitamins A and D. While milk benefits the body, negative side effects are caused due to over-consumption of milk products beyond the recommended daily allowance of three to eight ounces (0.08 to 0.2 litres). For adults, three cups of dairy products are recommended per day.
Dairy plants
Dr Hashim Al Nuaimi, director of the department of consumer protection, Ministry of Commerce, said there are 20 dairy plants registered with the ministry and 16 per cent of them are located in Sharjah.
He said that milk production has increased from 100.2 thousand tonnes per year in 2007 to approximately 175 thousand tonnes per year in 2011. "Despite the high production, the industry is facing challenges and one of them includes the lack of available water because each cow needs up to 100 litres of water a day," Al Nuaimi said.
