Make free milk less sweet

Dr Hazreen says milk for students may be too sweet.

THE Education Ministry’s free milk for poor students may be too sweet.

With a sugar content ranging from 7g to 14g per 200 ml, the amount is higher than the Food Regulations (1985) recommendation.

Universiti Malaya (UM) Assoc Prof Dr Hazreen Abdul Majid said the ideal amount for low sugar products or milk should be 5g for every 100g according to the Food Regulations (1985).

Dr Hazreen is the deputy head for research and innovation at the Social and Preventive Medicine Department, and an associate professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the varsity’s Centre for Population Health.

He is also a Harvard Chan School of Public Health Research Fellow.

“Food manufacturers are encouraged to provide more low sugar products as recommended in the Food Regulations (1985).

“But the amount of sugar in the free milk distributed in schools, if it is flavoured milk, is slightly above the recommended sugar amount.”

The Food Regulations (1985) defines ‘low in sugar’ as products with a sugar content of not more than 5g per 100g of food, whereas ‘sugar free’ products contain less than 0.5g of sugar per 100g or 100ml of food.

PS1M was suspended this year but free milk was included in the RMT in June.

“Under these regulations, it is also mandatory to declare the sugar content on labels of instant beverages, ” he said, adding that the government’s reduce sugar consumption campaign which was launched in 2010 encourages food vendors and manufacturers to produce food and beverages with less sugar to create a healthy community.

Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin urged the ministry to provide sugar free milk.

“Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik has stressed on the importance of healthy meals for children so why are we giving our students poor quality milk?

“Milk loaded with sugar is cheaper but it’s definitely not good for our kids, ” he said, adding that if the ministry cannot even provide good quality milk for poor kids, how is it going to give free wholesome meals to 2.7 million students under the Free Breakfast Programme next year.

After the 1Malaysia Milk Programme (PS1M) – which recorded 8,375 food poisoning cases between 2011 and 2017 – was suspended in January, the Education Ministry included free milk in the Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) starting June 10.

The milk is sourced from 10 companies in the department of veterinary services’ list that are able to provide consistent supply of fresh local milk for the RMT.

Based on the PS1M task force report, poisoning cases prior to this were high but after measures were jointly taken by the Health and Education Ministries to improve the operations and supply chain, the numbers were greatly reduced.

These measures were compiled in a guidebook which was distributed to all schools, and incorporated in the RMT, said the ministry.

Dr Hazreen said food poisoning is caused by bacteria or its poison and viruses; chemicals like insecticides, weed killers and drugs; metals like lead, copper and mercury; and poisonous plants and marine products like mushroom, fungus and shellfish.

And, how susceptible one is to food poisoning depends on the causative agents; dose of bacteria, viruses or poison ingested; age of individuals; and strength of the body’s immune system.

The patient, he said, may experience nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach ache, sweating or fever, headache, or lethargy.

“Read the expiry date. And if the milk’s taste and appearance is off, throw it away. Refrigerate milk once it’s opened.”

He said the milk programme is very important as the intake of calcium among Malaysian children is inadequate.

Studies from Malaysian Health and Longitudinal Research Study (MyHeARTs) had shown low calcaneus bone mineral content due to inadequate calcium intake and physical activity level among Malaysian adolescents. Such sub-optimal dietary intake will affect future growth.

Most of the programmes that the government initiated are good but they require continuity and evaluation, he said, adding that more inter-governmental collaborations and reference to scientific evidence are crucial when planning policies for healthier generations.

About the free milk programme

The government’s School Milk Programme started in 1983, was suspended in 2007 following food poisoning reports, and given a boost again three years later for the benefit of over a million children nationwide.

In September 2010, the programme was re-launched under the name 1Malaysia School Milk Programme (PS1M). The milk was distributed to all pupils in Years One to Six nationwide at an estimated cost of RM4mil.

In 2011, the high cost of running the programme forced the Government to focus only on selected schools and children.

In November 2018, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said milk worth millions of ringgit went missing under the PS1M as they were not received by schools they were intended for. PS1M was suspended in January. The Governance, Procurement and Finance Investigating Committee is looking into corruption allegations.

In June this year, free milk was included in the Education Ministry’s Supplementary Food Programme (RMT) for poor students nationwide. In 2018,489,117 schoolchildren in 7,316 schools throughout the country received the RMT. Under the RMT programme, poor students nationwide are given complete meals with fresh fruits and a soya bean drink every morning. More than 20 types of meals are provided under the RMT programme, which include chicken rice, nasi lemak, fried noodles, bee hoon, roti canai, lontong, soto, nasi paprik, cereals and soup noodles.