KUALA LUMPUR: Farm Fresh has introduced its latest product, Farm Fresh Grow, a ready-to-drink UHT formulated growing up milk made from pure cow's milk with only essential fortification added.
For children aged one to six, this product does not contain maltodextrin, vegetable oil and calcium carbonate, which are hidden substitute ingredients that should not be in children's milk.
Farm Fresh co-founder and chief executive officer Loi Tuan Ee said in normal dairy industry practices, milk fat is skimmed off dairy milk to make cream and butter.
"What is left is the skimmed milk that is used as the basis of children's formula milk. To replace the initial dairy milk fat skimmed off, plant oils are used in the formula milk formulation due to similarity in fatty acid composition.
"To compensate for the lack of sweetness in the milk, other forms of processed sugar substitutes like maltodextrin, corn syrup solids and also sucrose are added to make it tastier and thicker.
"Additionally, the dilution of the natural dairy in formulated milk powder has weakened the natural calcium content, which is then added with calcium carbonate, processed from limestones," he said at the launch of Farm Fresh Grow on Wednesday.
Farm Fresh Grow has a creamy note and tastes just like fresh milk, and comes in 125ml and 200ml UHT packaging that can be stored at room temperature.
Its ingredients include cow's milk and it is fortified with Inulin Fibre, DHA (algae), Choline, Taurine, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc plus antioxidants and 22 vitamins including Vitamin A, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, and Vitamin C.
Farm Fresh chief operating officer Azmi Zainal said, "Parents, grandparents and caretakers alike understand the importance of a child's growing up years as a crucial stage for their overall development. According to a report by the Health Ministry, it is found that one in five Malaysian children under the age of five are stunted.
"This means malnutrition is a major issue among Malaysian children. Even if they are drinking milk, children are still not getting the right amount of nutrients.
"It is worse if parents are ill-informed about the ingredients present in the milk that they give to children which could be inhibiting their potential growth. This is where we would like to address the importance of label reading and to check the ingredients on the back of the packaging before purchasing, especially when it concerns children's milk."
Also present at the launch of the new product was Farm Fresh's new brand ambassador, Datuk Seri Siti Nurhaliza.
Farm Fresh also unveiled their new taglines: "IT'S ALLLLLLLLL GOOD" and "SEMOOOOOANYA BAIK" to drive the product promise not just for Farm Fresh Grow, but also signifying the goodness contained in all of Farm Fresh's products.
All of Farm Fresh's labelled products are free from preservatives and colourings.
The latest Farm Fresh Grow UHT Formulated Milk is now available at Jaya Grocer retail stores and 99 Speedmart, sold in packs of 4s x 200ml in Peninsular Malaysia.
One can also purchase the milk through Farm Fresh's Home Dealer Network or online via SUBPLACE, sold by cartons (24s x 200ml) on a monthly subscription or one-off basis at www.subplace.com/brand/farmfresh with offers from RM25 up to RM40 off.
For more details on Farm Fresh, visit www.farmfresh.com.my.