Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

Chapter 1 – Introduction 7
borne illness in humans. A great deal is known about the sources of hazards and the
necessary controls and preventive measures to avoid them, and these are discussed
in Chapter 6. It is not always necessary to eliminate the hazard completely, but
ensuring that it does not exceed an acceptable level is critical. The challenge to all
food-safety policy-makers is to balance necessary mitigation and control measures
with desired economic and human health outcomes whilst taking into account the
diversity of milk production systems and products.
1.3.2 Dairy programmes affecting nutrition
As a concentrated source of macro- and micronutrients, milk and dairy products
can play a particularly important role in human nutrition in developing countries
where the diets of poor people frequently lack diversity and consumption of
animal-source foods may be limited. As discussed in Chapter 4 – Milk and dairy
products as part of the diet and Chapter 7 – Milk and dairy programmes affecting
nutrition, milk and dairy products can add much needed diversity to plantbased
diets and can contribute to promoting child growth; it is frequently a vital
component in specially formulated foods in therapeutic feeding of malnourished
children. Milk and dairy programmes show potential to improve human nutrition
worldwide. Chapter 7 systematically reviews the evidence for the effects of milk
programmes on nutrition. Dairy production and agriculture programmes were
found to be more effective in improving nutrition if they were targeted to women,
strategies to introduce small livestock and improved breeds of cattle and sheep, and
awareness-raising on the nutritional value of milk. School-based programmes were
shown to improve body composition and micronutrient status, but the issues of
appropriate levels of fat, added sugar and flavouring in milk need to be addressed.
Evidence of the positive effects of milk was strongest from fortified-milk programmes,
although issues of limited market access, cost and questionable effects on
zinc nutrition remain. Finally, adding milk to blended foods has been a nutrition
strategy for decades, but the effect of the milk ingredient is largely unknown.
Dairy programming faces many challenges, including the need for higher-quality
evaluations with cost-effectiveness analyses and consideration of the dual burden
of under- and overnutrition. Dairy offers compelling opportunities, such as the
prospect of simultaneously improving nutrition and reducing poverty, aided by the
generally positive public perception of milk.
1.3.3 Linking dairy agriculture and nutrition
A review of global trends and production indicates a stagnating level of milk consumption
in many developed countries but a growing demand in some developing
countries, notably in China (see Chapter 2). Increasing demand and relatively high
prices for milk and dairy products also provide an opportunity for the millions of
smallholder’s farmers who produce milk in developing countries to increase their
livelihoods. However, their market access is often limited by weaknesses in dairyindustry
development, as discussed in Chapter 8 – Dairy-industry development
programmes: their role in food and nutrition security and poverty reduction. In
many parts of the world, milk and dairy products are highly valued and have an
important role in both household food security and also in income generation.
Dairy-industry projects in developing countries often have a direct benefit for