Drive to promote dairy products gets EU co-funding approval

A THREE-YEAR campaign co-ordinated by the National Dairy Council (NDC) to promote the nutritional benefits and consumption of dairy products has been approved for European Union co-funding.

One of 13 member state programmes, it will commence in April and aims through linkage with sport to increase milk consumption by young people in particular.

The Milk in Action programme in Ireland will also inform women of the nutritional benefits of milk and milk products, in particular cheese and yoghurt, in the battle against osteoporosis.

It will receive, over three years, €728,470 funding from the EU, matched by funding of €291,388 from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, and €437,082 from the dairy industry here through NDC members.

Welcoming the initiative, Minister Brendan Smith said it was timely as studies show that 43% of Irish teenage girls, 23% of Irish teenage boys and 23% of Irish women do not have sufficient calcium intake in their diets.

NDC chief executive Helen Brophy said: “The additional funding for the Milk in Action campaign will help us to expand our efforts to drive the consumption of milk and dairy products in critical and targeted areas.”

Agriculture and Rural Develoment Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said yesterday the total budget for all the programmes across 11 member states is €35.8 million of which the EU contributes €17.9 million.

This was one of a set of measures proposed by the Commission last July to address the difficult market situation faced by the dairy sector.