At its inaugural meeting in London the panel – which comprises health and nutrition experts from around the world – addressed how the dairy industry can encourage young people to choose milk-based products as a healthy quick snack, a sports recovery drink or an attractive beverage “to be seen with”.
Panel member Professor Michael Symonds, head of the academic division of child health, director of the Early Life Nutrition Research Unit, Nottingham, said: “The dairy industry needs to accelerate the development of innovative new products that will appeal specifically to young people.”
Wendy Martinson, OBE, a freelance nutrition and dietetic consultant, is also on the panel. She said: “Milk-based drinks can be a useful and convenient way for sports people to get some of the important nutrients they need after a hard training session.”
Dairy Council director Dr Judith Bryans said: “It’s apparent that the dairy industry needs to increase the accessibility of milk-based drinks and address the image and appeal for young people. We want children to focus on understanding the meaning of making healthy eating and drinking choices. Milk is an excellent source of essential nutrients for bone growth and development. It’s an easy way for children to contribute to their recommended daily intake of calcium.
“Messages clearly need to be defined on the benefits of drinking milk and marketed so they’re easily and readily available to young people.”
Other topics discussed during the expert panel meeting included the need for academics to defend dairy publicly on the issue of health claims.
The need for research to be conducted that clearly shows dairy’s nutritional role in a sustainable diet was also addressed. The experts agree this evidence is desperately needed to feed into government initiatives in this area and ensure dairy’s rightful place is recognised.
The Dairy Council intends to increase its engagement with a variety of audiences. Dr Bryans said, “The creation of this expert panel will broaden our expertise within the organisation. And the inaugural meeting was successful in bringing new thinking to many issues that effect the dairy industry.”
Source: Dairy Council
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