Officials of Nestlé with the participants after the training
Nestlé Ghana last Friday joined hands with millions of persons to celebrate the benefits of milk for a healthy living on this year’s International Milk Day.
A day was set aside to highlight the important role and contribution of dairy farmers and to raise awareness about the goodness of milk.
As part of activities to commemorate the day, Nestlé Ghana organised a media workshop on the important role milk plays in maintaining health and well-being.
The event also sought to empower journalists to educate the public on healthier diet choices by sharing expertise from a range of national nutrition experts such as Dr Nii Lante Amissah, a lecturer at the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences of the University of Ghana, who shed more light on the importance of milk for all stages of life.
Speaking at the workshop, the Managing Director for Nestlé Ghana, Freda Duplan, said, “As we celebrate World Milk Day, I reaffirm Nestlé’s commitment to address under nutrition through micronutrient fortification and our ambition to help 50 million children lead healthier lives by 2030.”
Dr Nii Lante Amissah said over the course of life, inadequate intake of nutrients such as calcium leads to weakening the bones, thus, increasing the risk of fractures later in life, particularly in women.
“Regular consumption of dairy products, including milk, can help prevent diseases such as osteoporosis,” he said.
He disclosed that many adults avoid milk due to concern about fat content or inconvenient effects of lactose intolerance.
“However, there are many ways to mitigate these effects and still benefit from the nutritional benefits of dairy. Recent research has shown that children and adults with lactose intolerance can build up tolerance over time by regularly introducing small amounts of milk, which can slowly change their intestinal bacteria and make lactose easier to digest,” Dr Amissah added.
He stated that milk is naturally rich in calcium and a good carrier of micro-nutrient fortification, making it viable in the long-term as a way to deliver more nutrition to large segments of the population.
The participants were taken through Nestlé’s range of milk brands developed to offer good nutrition, especially micro-nutrients needed by growing children.
“Today, our affordable fortified milks are present in the region, making a positive difference in the lives of children around the world. In Central & West Africa, Nestlé sold 810 million servings of fortified milk in 2017,” Russell Lipchin, Business Executive Officer for Dairy at Nestlé Central & West Africa, said.
A cooking contest was held for the media participants to test their knowledge on the benefits of milk in a fun way.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri