5 March 2010

Canberra Milk - As fresh as it gets!!!!!!

| canucksfan
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Having taken the kids to the show last weekend (saturday so had the glorious weather) and just today looking on the skyfire website I am getting more and more upset with Canberra Milk still labelling itself as Canberras local and fresh milk. As far as I’m aware, and I’m open for feedback here,Canberra milk comes from the south coast. Canberra milk joined up with the Bega CoOp in the late ’90s to become Capital Cilled Foods(CCFA). As the milk no longer comes from Canberra (The Dairy flats are now wasting water on lawns), I’m dissapointed that they still use the name. The milk itself comes from the Bega area up to 250kms away but when its short they have access to the dairy farmers CoOp which includes Qld, Vic, and SA. How possibly can this milk be as fresh as it gets? Just because its bottled in Canberra doesn’t make it Canberran. What they had to say on their website:

“It is the only dairy manufacturer situated in the Australian Capital Territory.

CCFA manufactures fresh milk and cream from its fully HACCP accredited factory, located in Canberra.”

I never knew milk was manufactured!!!!!!

Now maybe you will say well there is nothing closer so in that case it is as fresh as it gets, not fresh but fresher than anything else. I was at the farmers markets the week before the show and there is milk being sold there from Picton (216km). Its milked thursday bottled friday and in my childrens warm milo saturday night, that to me is as fresh as it gets. I’m not here to plug the brand but it is available at both farmers markets and the family who own the business are trying to get it into Canberra IGA’s in the near future.

CCFA masquerading as Canberra Milk has thrown massive ammounts of money at events such as Canberra Show, Canberra Stadium(Brumbies and Raiders), and Skyfire which is good but unfortunately Canberra Milk is as Canberran as the Clyde Rathbones ou there, and here for the same reasons- the money.

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Bobby Britton11:39 am 11 May 10

Having worked there for a short stint, the sixth day was a pain, but was worth double time for the whole 8 hours. For a casual with no headsmarts or ability to procure a public servant role etc, that would equate to $1100 a week, so well worth it to some. Round it back to $850 for a full-timer which isn’t anything flash but comfortable, and that was 3 years ago.
As for the actual milk, it would interest many that the full cream you drink in Canberra, whether it be HomeBrand, Franklins, Woolies, Coles, Dairy Farmers, Canberra Milk or the supermarkets mid range or generic offerings, the milk would come from the same vat into the same bottles with a slight pause for sticker and cap change.
So when you walk into Coles etc, do not be governed by the price in any way, it is exactly the same milk whether $2.50 or $4.50.
At that time, all white milk was made in Canberra, and all flavoured milks were sourced from Lidcombe. In saying that, the backload to Lidcombe was white milk, usually 2L Dairy Farmers full cream.
Milk processed in Canberra was servicing the south coast as far as Bega, all stops to Wagga, Griffith, Narrandera, Leeton, and the Goulburn districts which then distributed further on, so there was and is a trade off to buying from elsewhere as many jobs are created servicing other areas. I’m assuming Canberra Milk lost its business with the Wagga distributor as his refrigerated trucks are now seen heading to and from Sydney.

Gungahlin Al1:24 pm 29 Mar 10

Canberra milk are ruthless company to work for. My wife works there and they force everyone to work 6 days a week. The sixth day being overtime, anybody who doesn’t do it get’s shamed and blackballed. She has worked 6 days a week there for 12 years without promotion until recently when she was about to leave and they caught wind of it. So they promoted her because she is irreplaceable, knowing machine and testing procedures that not even the managers know.

On the upside you can know that you can drink their milk without falling ill. They absolutely test the hell out of all there finished product in an on site lab constantly, and if there is even one little problem they purge and throw out thousands of liters of milk. I think that is something that people like canucksfan forget when going for the ‘fresh’ country milk from the markets, that it may not be properly processed or tested, and that there are things that you can catch from improperly processed milk that would make your blood curdle. Viruses, bacteria, brain and body parasites, stuff that modern society forgot about 100+ years ago thanks to PRESERVATIVES and other additions. That goes for other foods too. Nothing wrong with processed and preserved.

Crikey – way to dump your wife in it…

georgesgenitals said :

Holden Caulfield said :

At least their advertising is, erm, memorable, haha.

http://www.ausmotive.com/2010/03/27/mark-webbers-star-joins-the-milky-way.html

Has anyone seeen and heard Webber singing the Canberra Milke Kid song on the telly. He drives like a world champion, but he sings, well, even worse than me.

It was bad. Very bad. Worse than Michael Milton.

colourful sydney racing identity9:50 am 29 Mar 10

kelly121 said :

Canberra does not source its milk from the Bega region. Bega’s milk is processed in Sydney. Canberra sources its milk from farms in the Orange region and also from Victoria. It has never sourced milk from qld or sa – the milk would be far to old to process. The milk that is recieved is delivered fresh – usually less than 48hrs old. Milk is not manufactured – it is processed and packed in the canberra factory. It has never and will never have water added to it. In fact Canberra milk has the same legal specifications of milk solid compositions as its nsw competitors. As for the milk being more watery than other brands – crap! Milk (all dairy milk) mainly consists of water.

Canberra Milk generously supports the Canberran community through minor and major sponsorships such as the Raiders, Brumbies, community events and the south care helipcopter.

Canberra Milk is the best tasting milk. Sure its more expensive but its a brand name you can trust.

Oh come on.

Declare a personal interest in this topic. If you don’t work for Canberra Milk I am not here.

georgesgenitals7:01 pm 28 Mar 10

Holden Caulfield said :

At least their advertising is, erm, memorable, haha.

http://www.ausmotive.com/2010/03/27/mark-webbers-star-joins-the-milky-way.html

Has anyone seeen and heard Webber singing the Canberra Milke Kid song on the telly. He drives like a world champion, but he sings, well, even worse than me.

Holden Caulfield6:45 pm 27 Mar 10

At least their advertising is, erm, memorable, haha.

http://www.ausmotive.com/2010/03/27/mark-webbers-star-joins-the-milky-way.html

Canberra does not source its milk from the Bega region. Bega’s milk is processed in Sydney. Canberra sources its milk from farms in the Orange region and also from Victoria. It has never sourced milk from qld or sa – the milk would be far to old to process. The milk that is recieved is delivered fresh – usually less than 48hrs old. Milk is not manufactured – it is processed and packed in the canberra factory. It has never and will never have water added to it. In fact Canberra milk has the same legal specifications of milk solid compositions as its nsw competitors. As for the milk being more watery than other brands – crap! Milk (all dairy milk) mainly consists of water.

Canberra Milk generously supports the Canberran community through minor and major sponsorships such as the Raiders, Brumbies, community events and the south care helipcopter.

Canberra Milk is the best tasting milk. Sure its more expensive but its a brand name you can trust.

georgesgenitals8:58 am 13 Mar 10

DavoDavo said :

georgesgenitals said :

krats said :

georgesgenitals said :

If they supply the cheapo Woolies homebrand stuff from the bottom shelf of the fridge, then I reckon they’re doing a great job.

Seriously, there are bigger issues than this in the world.

And your idea of bigger issues would be what??
How come the cheese burger rolls at Maccas have got smaller?(Hey come to think of it they have!)

For example, when I was in Maccas in a south east Asian country last week (which for obvious reasons will remain anonymous), they only include two pancakes in a serve rather than three.

Well, maybe that’s because most asians are a lot smaller than most Australians? I’m finding it increasingly difficult these days to walk through the Tuggeranong Happidrome without being steamrollered by all the fatsos who insist on clogging up the passageways, and another thing – why can’t people keep left when they walk through shopping centres? They wander around like lost sheep and get in my way all the bloody time.

They can’t keep left on the road, why would they show similar courtesy at the shops?

georgesgenitals said :

Funky1 said :

Like when the Canberra Raiders were based in Queanbeyan and played at Seifert Oval.
How did they get away with that?

Oh, you mean back when the Raiders were a real team…

I think you should watch this and then go back to your 5 litre jugs of home brand milk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCwahG0E9KA

georgesgenitals said :

krats said :

georgesgenitals said :

If they supply the cheapo Woolies homebrand stuff from the bottom shelf of the fridge, then I reckon they’re doing a great job.

Seriously, there are bigger issues than this in the world.

And your idea of bigger issues would be what??
How come the cheese burger rolls at Maccas have got smaller?(Hey come to think of it they have!)

For example, when I was in Maccas in a south east Asian country last week (which for obvious reasons will remain anonymous), they only include two pancakes in a serve rather than three.

Well, maybe that’s because most asians are a lot smaller than most Australians? I’m finding it increasingly difficult these days to walk through the Tuggeranong Happidrome without being steamrollered by all the fatsos who insist on clogging up the passageways, and another thing – why can’t people keep left when they walk through shopping centres? They wander around like lost sheep and get in my way all the bloody time.

Hmm. Well I buy Bulla choc coated icecreams because they are meant to be the only ones wholly australian owned, and made from real Victorian milk (not imported milk flakes.) And I do not want to be told anything different! They are also cheap and yummy!!

Interesting argument kanucksfan,

1st for those who don’t follow rugby Clyde rathbone was the electric winger for the Brumbies that was Born in South Africa and actually Captained the South African under 21’s team before becoming an Australian and a Canberran.

2nd, Would it not follow that the use of the name “Capital Region Farmers Markets” is equally wrong? As you have said the milk you buy is from Picton, not the Capital region. In fact I don’t think their are more than 4 or five farmers at the Capital Region Farmers markets that come from the Capital Region. But there are a lot of Stalls selling products that are “manufactured” here in the capital region. Why aren’t you writing a long post on why that is false advertising?

JC I was indeed unaware of the information in your post. Geez, they make it hard for us ethical consumers! I really want farmers (preferably those in the region – don’t mind if that’s Bega) to get my business and not be ripped off. However, it seems that both farmers and consumers have been placed in an invidious position.

Hey Miz, interesting post and agree with the first part. But you know the second, well that is where I have the very issue with Canberra Milk. It would appear as if they have manipulated YOU into believing their product is local enough and worth extra when it is far from it.

You mention cheap Victorian milk, out of interest did you know that before deregulation of the RETAIL side of milk production that Canberra Milk was already buying what you call ‘cheap Victorian Milk’? Also it was the milk producers that started to put the screws on the farmers for a better price long before the retail market was deregulated, though clearly the screws have been applied even harder with the major supermarkets having their own brands too.

I disagree Jess and others, this is actually an important issue – it is a classic example of how ‘consumers’ inform ‘the marketplace’, if you like, that people do not always buy what is supposedly in their best economic interest, ie, the cheapest, as the economic models indicate.

I for one will continue to buy local over the other where I can (even if the local product is more exie) if I believe there is a good reason (such as, its localness, or political reasons, such as objections to the way govts and other organisations such as woollies have treated dairy farmers by implementing policies that result in cheapo products flooding the market (eg cheap Victorian milk). Hence, I put my money where my mouth is and support Canberra Milk and my local milko. It’s the principle of the thing.

Nothing to see here. Move Along.

georgesgenitals8:27 pm 08 Mar 10

Funky1 said :

Like when the Canberra Raiders were based in Queanbeyan and played at Seifert Oval.
How did they get away with that?

Oh, you mean back when the Raiders were a real team…

Adza said :

Gee, I’ll have to remember to get cranky whenever I see a business with ACT in their name, but that actually trades in Queanbeyan…

Like when the Canberra Raiders were based in Queanbeyan and played at Seifert Oval.
How did they get away with that?

Or the Canberra Times, which is owner by Rural Press which happens to be Victorian company.

Think he meant Bradley Clyde

It’s a registered brand name.

Get over it.

Having grown up on a dairy farm in Bega, and having lived here in Canberra for over 20 years now, I must agree that this is a pretty boring post. And so is milking cows. But I loved growing up on a farm and will always be a bushie in my heart.
But, Canberra Milk has every right to call its self whatever it wants. It purchases bulk milk from Bega, transports it up here, and packages it. Bega doesn’t care what it is called once it is sold.
I used to be able to buy Bega Milk in Queanbeyan till about 15 yrs ago.
May I point out that Bega does not manufacture Bega Milk anyway, even in Bega the milk is marketed under other names.
Anyway, Bega Cheese rocks!!! My favourite!!

georgesgenitals11:16 pm 07 Mar 10

Jugs… that is. I’m suffering from withdrawal symptoms because I ran out of milk earlier this evening.

georgesgenitals11:15 pm 07 Mar 10

Hey, when can we have 5 litre milk jogs again – I fcking LOVE the stuff.

troll-sniffer said :

Wow. Gee. Welcome to this week’s major Canberra news story.

I dunno about the finer points of milk marketing but it would seem to me that milk that is bottled or cartoned in a factory in Kingston has every right to call itself Canberra Milk.

If anyone can come up with a sensible reason why the above para is not completely valid, I’d love to hear it but scratch my head and contemplate the stars I cannot for the life of me see how it can fail to earn the title of where it is bottled if that’s what the company wants to call it.

The issue I have is nothing to do with the name as such or where the milk comes from, but how said company goes around marketing themselves as being local, when they are no more local than any other milk product sold in this town. To me putting the milk in the a bottle in the ACT doesn’t make it local. Sure it creates a few jobs, but then again the ‘other’ companies also generate jobs too, so are just as local in my eyes. Except of course they don’t market themselves as such.

The ‘others’ also produce a much better product. Growing up in Canberra I had thought the milk was ok, until I moved to Sydney in the late 90’s and realised how watery Canberra milk was. Luckily since moving back to Canberra the market has opened up and I very rarely buy Canberra milk for that very reason, though when I do it is still clearly more watery.

I also remember when the milk was advertised as local too. But back then it was like 5% from ACT region farms and 95% from northern Victoria.

troll-sniffer12:07 am 07 Mar 10

Wow. Gee. Welcome to this week’s major Canberra news story.

I dunno about the finer points of milk marketing but it would seem to me that milk that is bottled or cartoned in a factory in Kingston has every right to call itself Canberra Milk.

If anyone can come up with a sensible reason why the above para is not completely valid, I’d love to hear it but scratch my head and contemplate the stars I cannot for the life of me see how it can fail to earn the title of where it is bottled if that’s what the company wants to call it.

Gee, I’ll have to remember to get cranky whenever I see a business with ACT in their name, but that actually trades in Queanbeyan…

Hmm, considering that Bega Cheese is promoted as proudly coming from Bega, why not rename it Bega Milk if thats where most of the milk comes from, im sure they could tie it in with the Bega cheese advertising campaigns and give themselves 2 reasons to be proud of being a large dairy region in NSW. I don’t really care much myself what they call it, but stands to reason if it comes from Bega not Canberra these days why not be proud of that as well and call it Bega Milk?

The mention of dairy flats in this post has made me wonder what possessed the govt to think it is OK to change street names? I am thinking of ‘Dairy Flat Road’, now inexplicably changed to the boring and less historic ‘Dairy Road’. WHY? When so many streets have double barrel names?

georgesgenitals8:41 pm 06 Mar 10

krats said :

georgesgenitals said :

If they supply the cheapo Woolies homebrand stuff from the bottom shelf of the fridge, then I reckon they’re doing a great job.

Seriously, there are bigger issues than this in the world.

And your idea of bigger issues would be what??
How come the cheese burger rolls at Maccas have got smaller?(Hey come to think of it they have!)

For example, when I was in Maccas in a south east Asian country last week (which for obvious reasons will remain anonymous), they only include two pancakes in a serve rather than three.

krats said :

bd84 said :

How do you think that milk is not manufactured? Newsflash: The milk we drink doesn’t come direct from the cow’s udder into our glasses, it is processed to make it drinkable.

NO YOU WRONG,”MANUFACTURED” means add water,and lots of it to make it drinkable.while at the same time,very profitable.

You can make your own milk at home.(1)purchase 1Ltr Mount Franklin water.
(2)add white food dye
(3)drink your 1Ltr “MILK”

I was talking about real milk, not skim milk..

The milk hasn’t come from Canberra for years, and even when the farm at Dairy flat was open it only provided a small percentage anyway. Indeed about 10 years ago the ‘contract’ for supply was some Victorian company.

Though I do beleive you are right about the name. They make a big deal about it being local etc, when it fact it is far from local. So yes a tad misleading.

slow news week in Canberra

georgesgenitals said :

If they supply the cheapo Woolies homebrand stuff from the bottom shelf of the fridge, then I reckon they’re doing a great job.

Seriously, there are bigger issues than this in the world.

And your idea of bigger issues would be what??
How come the cheese burger rolls at Maccas have got smaller?(Hey come to think of it they have!)

georgesgenitals4:14 pm 06 Mar 10

If they supply the cheapo Woolies homebrand stuff from the bottom shelf of the fridge, then I reckon they’re doing a great job.

Seriously, there are bigger issues than this in the world.

bd84 said :

How do you think that milk is not manufactured? Newsflash: The milk we drink doesn’t come direct from the cow’s udder into our glasses, it is processed to make it drinkable.

NO YOU WRONG,”MANUFACTURED” means add water,and lots of it to make it drinkable.while at the same time,very profitable.

You can make your own milk at home.(1)purchase 1Ltr Mount Franklin water.
(2)add white food dye
(3)drink your 1Ltr “MILK”

Wow…the troubles of the world eh?

I don’t care whether it comes from Canberra or not. The fact that it’s nearly a dollar more expensive then any other milk makes me refuse to buy it. I always believed that “local” products were supposed to be cheaper, this explains a lot.

I really want milk that has not been pulled apart and put back together again, without having to have my own cow or goat (see here

http://www.choice.com.au/Reviews-and-Tests/Food-and-Health/Food-and-drink/Groceries/Milk-products-compared/Page/Diluting-our-milk.aspx

If Canberra Milk brought out a ‘farm gate’ (pasteurised only) product, I would be happy to pay for that. It disturbs me greatly that there is so much interference to what is essentially an excellent product in its natural state.

That said, I do only ever buy Canberra Milk via the local Milko, as all good Canberrans should! (It’s good to keep the money local – and I HOPE they are paying the farmers properly).

Actually it annoys me too – why not call it Bega milk and be done with it.

Something is seriously wrong with our world when it makes more sense for a ‘farmer’ to grow astroturf (during a drought even) than to run dairy cows – surely milk should be more essential to a city than rolls of turf.

I have to drink lactose free milk so it doesn’t make any difference to me.

bd84 said :

Geezus talk about a rant.

Did you really think Canberra Milk was made from *all* the cows that live here in Canberra? Read the company history, it’s always been affiliated with Bega with the milk processed here in Canberra, their corporate offices are here, hence “Canberra Milk”.

How do you think that milk is not manufactured? Newsflash: The milk we drink doesn’t come direct from the cow’s udder into our glasses, it is processed to make it drinkable.

CCFA is as Canberran as possible, it tastes good, it supports local causes and yes it’s here for the money. Are your friends in Picton dairy farmers for the fun of it or for making money from selling milk to people? You know the answer to that.

bd84 said :

Geezus talk about a rant.

Did you really think Canberra Milk was made from *all* the cows that live here in Canberra? Read the company history, it’s always been affiliated with Bega with the milk processed here in Canberra, their corporate offices are here, hence “Canberra Milk”.

How do you think that milk is not manufactured? Newsflash: The milk we drink doesn’t come direct from the cow’s udder into our glasses, it is processed to make it drinkable.

CCFA is as Canberran as possible, it tastes good, it supports local causes and yes it’s here for the money. Are your friends in Picton dairy farmers for the fun of it or for making money from selling milk to people? You know the answer to that.

That is the best post I have read on here for a long time!

I don’t care mate. Hi Lo is still the best-tasting milk you can buy.

And, as you note, they seem to put some money back into the community. So, what’s the harm?

Tell it to the ACCC

Who cares. Milk is milk is milk. Never had a problem with the freshness of Canberra milk. Can’t believe you’re about to pop a nut over this non-issue.

Interesting abstraction.

Who’s Clyde Rathbone anyway? *sigh*

I don’t mind. It employs Canberrans, and I like it better than Dairy Farmers milk.

You aren’t involved in the Dairy Farmers milk brand are you? 😉

Geezus talk about a rant.

Did you really think Canberra Milk was made from *all* the cows that live here in Canberra? Read the company history, it’s always been affiliated with Bega with the milk processed here in Canberra, their corporate offices are here, hence “Canberra Milk”.

How do you think that milk is not manufactured? Newsflash: The milk we drink doesn’t come direct from the cow’s udder into our glasses, it is processed to make it drinkable.

CCFA is as Canberran as possible, it tastes good, it supports local causes and yes it’s here for the money. Are your friends in Picton dairy farmers for the fun of it or for making money from selling milk to people? You know the answer to that.

since when is advertising accurate anyway? especially in the dairy industry

next thing, they’ll tell you that you *need* 3 (or whatever) servings of dairy per day to be healthy

or that pasteurisation is still entirely necessary, and must be performed

*yawn*

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