Milk programme back in schools!!

PETALING JAYA: Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd (Dutch Lady) has assured that the milk distributed under the 1Malaysia School Milk Programme is safe for students.

"The milk to be distributed to schools in rural and urban areas will be monitored," said Dutch Lady corporate affairs manager Rohana Safinah Abdul Hamid.

She said that the distribution covers 1.4 million children from around 7,703 selected primary schools in the country, including in Sabah and Sarawak.

When asked why the national milk programme was temporarily suspended in 2007 she said it was because they wanted to enhance the milk programme and not due the food poisoning cases among the students, which was speculated.

"Now that the ministry has brought the programme back, the teachers in schools have been given talks on how to prevent the milk from being contaminated," she said after a recent educational tour of the UHT Milk Processing Plant at the Dutch Lady Building in Jalan Semangat here for members of the media.

"Ideally, we want to help feed all the children as milk provides nutrients for the children. Besides, our supplier Tetra Pak (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd assured us that each milk packet has six layers of cover to ensure its safety."

Meanwhile, Tetra Pak's quality management expert Rina Yeo said the milk will be tested first to see whether or not it meets the ministry's safety control system before it is distributed.

She added that there are several ways to prevent the milk from being contaminated, which includes proper storage.

Source: By C. Premananthini