4% of the total milk production
in the country is processed, which costs higher than the loose milk available in the market. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a committee to settle the dispute between a leading food manufacturing company – Engro Foods – and the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) over restrictions on the distribution and sale of ‘Dairy Omung’.
The committee comprises Punjab’s food minister, PFA director general, food scientists, law secretary and industry stakeholders. It will also recommend classifications for dairy drinks, introduced by different companies in the market.
Engro Foods Chief Executive Officer Sarfaraz Rehman attended the meeting on Friday and expressed hope for a positive resolution of the issue.
The restriction came after the PFA claimed that Dairy Omung was not milk. The company itself agrees to it and calls it a dairy drink. The company conducted a research on the loose (raw) milk available in the market, and found that it was “unhygienic and not safe for consumption”.
Rehman refuted that fat contents in their product are made of vegetable oils and said the fat contents are taken from milk. “Not only does it provide nutrition, it is also cheaper,” he said.
Rehman said necessary steps should be taken and a single classification system should be applied to all provinces. The current system is complicated for the manufacturers and discourages innovation in the food sector, he said.
The absence of such a system is the main cause behind frictions between the PFA and food manufacturers. Rehman said classifications and standards should be evolved at the earliest for products like dairy drinks, which are not only nutritional but also cost less than real milk products available in the market.
On November 21, the PFA closed a Lahore-based distributor for Dairy Omung, but the company managed to get a stay order from the Lahore High Court.
PFA officials argue that the product is not milk but falls under the milk category and if it is not milk, it cannot be sold. The company has admitted that the product is not milk, neither does it claim that it is milk. It demands a revised classification system where dairy drinks do not fall under the milk category but have a category of its own.
The Engro Foods CEO pointed out that Pakistan is facing a milk shortage and quality dairy products with nutritional values at affordable prices will help address the issue. He stated that only 4% of the milk production in the country is processed, which costs higher than the loose milk available in the market.
Rehman said the world is facing a 66% shortage of milk and countries like Brazil and Indonesia have started allowing low-priced dairy drinks. He asked the PFA to add more classifications for such innovative products with the help of food scientists and called for coming up with a more uniform system across the country.
Correction: The news item titled “Committee formed to settle dispute over Dairy Omung”, published on November 30 in The Express Tribune, erroneously quoted Engro Foods CEO as saying, “fat contents in our product are made of vegetable oils.” The company has clarified that the CEO said fat contents in their product were not made of vegetable oils and are taken from milk. The error is regretted.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 30th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (27)
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Mr.Sarfaraz Rehman,please explain if i am not wrong in concluding that your Company is guilty of deceptive marketing.In western country, such deceptions specially concerning human health would have ended any company into bankrupcy.Also we consumers have right to know which animal fats you are refering to?
I want my money back dat was spend on Dairy OMung
This case of Engro's Dairy Omung can serve as a catalyst for the local food authorities to classify thousands of eatables available on retail. As the company's CEO has agreed that Dairy Omung is not milk, so let it be. Sharif's on the other hand along with the likes of Adams, Nurpur, and Prema are in business of Fresh Milk with the name of Anhaar. As someone rightly pointed out, it caters to a different segment altogether who can afford a Rs.100/LTR instead of consuming loose milk (source: Gawala) which is no where close to hygienic nor it gives the required protein because of post-boiling effects.
Let's buck up the Punjab Govt. and relevant authorities who are lobbying for tighter food laws esp. for commercially available products. Its only going to help us all feed our children better.
No one need to be in a shock.. just learn to critically review packaging and ad campaigns of consumer food products. "Milk" they think are buying can be dairy extract, "ice cream" they are buying can just be a "frozen dessert" and what supposedly purchased as fruit juice might be "fruta vitals"... but there's nothing wrong in it. You just need to ensure that food items they are buying for consumption should be hygienically clean and appropriately nutritious. It has to be from a brand of trust and purchased from your regular dependable grocery store.
This is very unfortunate that a Food Company, claiming to be one of the best local corporates in Pakistan, is not clearly disclosing the contents on its product packagings. In a similar case filed by Yummy Ice cream company, the Lahore High Court has adjudicated that "an ice cream is supposed to be a dairy product. Since Walls (by Unilevers) is based on vegetable fats, and not milk fats, it cannot claim its products as ice cream". Resultantly, Walls has to write "frozen desert" on its products. Though some shopkeepers still call Walls an ice cream while selling the product. Perhaps Engro Foods Company also needs to make full disclosure on its products packaging. But this is only possible when the CEO Sarfaraz Rahman gives full time to the company rather than to his political party!
For those "wise" cynics, who think that this is because Sharif family is in the dairy business- i would suggest them to please understand the issue here. The observation by govt body is very appropriate and the company till date has deliberately used this "gap" to its advantage. So company has mader he consumer think of the product as milk by comparing it with milk in iits ads while not disclosing that it is not milk. They have done nothing illegal but certainly held back info from consumers. As for the Sharif dairy product "Anhar Milk", it is pastureized milk and todate Engro Foods does not have any pastuurezied milk in market. So dairy omung is selling for rs70 and Anhar milk at 100, both are for entrely different market segments.
The CEO of Engro Foods has been misquoted in this news item. Dairy Omung is sourced from pure milk base.
Good to know that. I had written about it in June 2012 http://www.chowrangi.pk/the-curious-case-of-dairy-omung-by-engro-foods.html/
Doesnt matter what the political background is of this issue, the fact is that if a company is selling something that isnt milk to consumers which still think that they are buying milk then this is exploitation. Doesnt matter what category this product falls under. the product should clearly state that it is by no means a milk substitute.(which i doesnt by the way) Also the fact that the company claims it has nutritional value then y not sell it as vitamins pills etc why are they passing this off as a regular everyday use item? and if they are selling it for its nutritional value alone then the question arises what other chemicals are added to it to make it stable and suitable for storage to enhance its shelf life. all products which have an extraordinarily long shelf life basically means it contains chemicals which over prolonged consumption can lead to various illnesses. in short its NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. doesnt matter if its cheaper than milk because if ur buying cheaper food items and then falling ill because of them, ur then spending extra money for the treatment. not to mention the psychological and physical pain u endure trying to save the extra money. Its completely pointless.
The Engro Foods spokesman has been grossly misquoted in this article. In actuality the company CEO when questioned on the subject had clarified the misconception saying that Dairy Omung is NOT made from vegetable oil but is rather sourced from fresh dairy cream. The reason company has refrained from calling it dairy milk is because the classification of it does not exist. It is very similar to Soy milk sold in other countries and widely in UAE as well for children that are lactose intolerant. So by definition of PFA if someone was to sell SOY MILK in Pakistan they would not be allowed to market it as 'milk' only because they do not have that classification that international markets do.
You expect a country with literacy as low as it is to be able to see weather something is termed as dairy liquid or milk. people only see a white liquid that looks like milk being poured into a glass and think it's milk
all the consumers should file FIR in respaective area against grocery stores selling substandard dairy milk; I think let u start from HYPERSTAR AND METRO as last month hypersar selling dairy omung at amazing offer.
I heard sharif family has invested a lot in dairy products. Maybe they want to outsmart their competitors playing dirty, which they always do.
Engro should have been more explicit in telling the consumers that it is not milk. That would have made it lawful. If I still buy it, its my choice.
“Fat contents in our product are made of vegetable oils and not only does it provide nutrition it is also cheaper,” the CEO said. You've got to wonder, why exactly is it cheap, if it is more nutritious than real milk?
no where in the world we see processed milk like Olpers,MilkPack etc with 3 months expiry, but here FMCG companies sell such milk by adding chemicals in the name of preservatives, which are harm full for us and still they call it Fresh and pure milk
Buhahahahahaha,,, The milk I was buying in this country is not milk I came to know today! OMG ‘Dairy Omung’. is not milk, Engro Foods deserves a prize for deceiving me and other consumers that much....