Is your Fresh Milk really ‘Fresh’?

By Kit Tng

Is Fresh Milk really ‘fresh’?

Milk is always regarded as an important part of my diet as it is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. I was very brand loyal to … now I am a convert! All that changed when I was invited by AustAsia Food Pte Ltd to visit the Greenfields dairy farm in Malang, Indonesia.

Greenfields dairy farm

Greenfields is situated on Gunung Kawi (Mt Kawi) at an altitude of 1200 meters above sea level. The daily average temperature throughout the year is about 14°C at night and 25°C in the day. This uniform cool temperature is a very important factor as it maintains the consistency of the quality and quantity of the milk produce.

Unlike temperate countries, milk produce may vary during different seasons as the temperature and available feed for the animal changes. Thus, to maintain the same quality or standard throughout the year, some dairy companies may ‘reconstitute’ the milk or add other ‘stuff’ to the milk for consistency.

Did you know Greenfields Milk Dairy Farm is close to Singapore?

Another major plus point about Greenfields location is the proximity to Singapore. This means Greenfields milk can be delivered to Singapore in a week or less while milk from other countries may take weeks before they arrive. By that time, the built up of bacteria in the milk may required the milk to be pasteurize again. This is known as double pasteurization and this significantly reduce the nutritional value of the milk.

You are what You EAT!

Greenfields dairy farm is the largest in South-East Asia, and is home to over 6,000 of the finest quality Holstein cows. The cows are fed with a mixture of locally-sourced and grown King Grass, corn and also with high-quality grain and alfalfa hay imported from overseas.

“You are what you eat” and that goes all for living things as well. The taste and the quality of milk depends greatly on the feed and as long as the cows receive quality nutrition, the milk they produce will also be of higher quality. Therefore, all fresh milk produce in Greenfields only comes from cows breed in farm and they do not use milk from external sources where they have no control of the feed the cows are given.

Greenfields 100% Fresh Milk

Greenfields is the one of the few integrated dairy farms in the region. When they say integrated, it mean they manage their own herd, milk their own cows, process the milk, pack and ship all in one single location.

As we know, the milk stays fresh as long as the bacteria growth is low and that is achieved by keeping the milk temperature low and minimize the exposure contaminants (including human). Thus, Greenfields invested heavily into an automated milking, processing and packaging process where the milk is cooled almost instantly once it is milked and no human intervention is required once the milk leaves the cow all the way into the Tetra Pak milk container you see in supermarket.

As Jan Gert Vistisen, Head, Marketing and Sales, for Greenfields explains, “The first time the milk gets human interaction is the time when you open the tab on the milk bottle and drink it.”

Please do not take my word for it. Walk down the milk aisle on your next visit to the supermarket, read the labels, bring home a bottle of Greenfields Fresh Milk and taste the wholesome goodness of what fresh milk really is.

Nearby attractions in Malang

Coban Rondo Waterfall

Scenic landscape of Malang

Read all posts on Indonesia.