Our long-running campaign for better milk exposed the industry’s dirty little secret – now two major producers have ditched the controversial additive and the push is on for better labelling practices.
Permeate is usually added to milk to standardise fat and protein levels.
Labelling laws do not require the amount of permeate in milk to be disclosed but industry sources have suggested it could be as high as 12-16 per cent in some milk brands.
So what exactly is permeate?
It's a by-product that's made during the manufacture of dairy products including cheese and, while there are no known health risks associated with adding it to milk, its costing shoppers thousands.
Milk from the farm costs processors about 50 cents a litre, while permeate costs only half that amount - just 18 cents a litre.
Not only does its addition to milk reduce costs, but it eliminates the need to dispose of the permeate.
Here is a list of permeate-free milk available in Australia:
Paul’s Milk
Pura Milk
A2 Milk
Ashgrove Farm Fresh
Aussie Farmers Direct
Bannister Downs Farm
Country Valley
Maleny Dairies
Norco
Peel Valley Dairy
ProCal
Udder Farm
Dairy Farmers
Woolworths and Coles are also looking at making their own branded milk permeate free.
Watch the full story above.
