Wednesday, September 9, 2009

What happened to my 0% milk?

One thing that constantly happens when one lives in a small country -- and when one was used to life in a much larger country -- is that one has to get used to certain consumer compromises.

For example, all existing Magnum ice cream flavours are not available in Israel -- which is a shame because the chocolate mint is really good. Another example was the time Israeli food manufacturer Strauss went so far as to remove the coffee flavoured yogurt from its repetoire.

If flavour compromises aren't that upsetting to you, then here is a consumer compromise that will hit many of you where you live: it is very difficult to find shoes in Israel in half sizes and I wear size 6.5. Yes, I know, tragic. And it forces me to shop on the internet more frequently than I would like.

And let's not even start on what happened to Rice Krispies.

However, over time, I have adjusted to all these life inconveniences.

That was, until today.

Today I found out that, Tnuva, another of the Israeli food manufacturing giants, has stopped manufacturing 0% milk. Now someone has finally crossed the line with me. I can manage on white chocolate Magnums, and I can survive with cappacino yogurt and without Rice Krispies. And I can always shop on Ebay or Amazon. But what the heck am I going to do without 0% milk?

We drink approximately 10 litres of milk a week in my house. Approximately half of those are 0%; the rest are 1% and I only buy that because I read somewhere that kids need some fat in their milk and that milk with a bit of fat improves nutrient absorption. But the bottom line is that as the chief grocery store shopper in my family, I actively seek out 0% dairy products because I believe they are healthier.

As far as I know, the no-longer existent 0% milk was also fortified with vitamin D. Now vitamin D is worthy of an entire dissertation in its own right. It seems that this vitamin, above all other vitamins, has been officially chosen by scientists as The Most Important Vitamin. Well, if it is, then I want it in my milk.

I know we live in a sunny climate where theoretically vitamin D is available everywhere you turn because it is perpetually sunny here and vitamin D comes from the sun, but it's not that simple. First of all, you actually have to go outside where the sun is shining. As I have previously mentioned, I don't do much of that between June and the end of October.

And children need vitamin D to grow up strong and healthy. Call me crazy, but that's what I am aiming for. Healthy, strong children.

Okay, so now I have all that ranting out of the way. And rather than just sitting around and complaining, I actually called Tnuva and asked to speak to someone who knew why the 0% milk discontinuation decision was made. As it turns out, there is no one to speak to, unless you have some schlep and can get to someone in the milk production factory.

Normally, my Plan B would be to go higher in search of answers but after I checked around, I found out that 55% of Tnuva is owned by a London-based investment firm called Apax Partners and the next largest shareholder is an Israeli investment firm. No real people involved -- definitely no parents. In other words, Plan B was off the rails before I even got started.

The upside is that the very nice, probably very young, customer service rep that I spoke to told me that: "Tnuva appreciates my call and my opinion." Needless to say, I am very confident that my call will make a difference.

So, here I am, once again, forced to adjust to consumer limitations beyond my control. Yes, I will survive with 1% milk and life will go on. But I am concerned that it is a slippery slope. I am just waiting for the day that "they" announce that toilet paper production has been terminated in the State of Israel. Then the sh_t is really going to hit the fan.

1 comment:

  1. hi
    just found your blog on a google search for 0% milk in israel. did you find any made by anyone else? anywhere?

    ReplyDelete