BY NDUMBE BELL GASTON IN DOUALA
Ahead of the International Milk consumption Day billed for last Thursday June 1, Nestlé Cameroon invited experts and media practitioners to talk about nutrition issues especially on the importance of milk as a food item or diet using the theme “The Importance of Milk in Diet”
The Communication Directress, Barbara Wettstein in her opening remarks declared; “Nutrition and health to improve the quality of life and therefore contribute to the vibrant development of the
nation occupies a primordial role in the priorities of the enterprise. With a relatively high rate of malnutrition, experts here will detail on the importance and problems so that media practitioners can help to sensitise the public on the essentials of milk consumption. It would be recalled that in the last visit with journalists, emphasis was laid on the methods in producing quality nutrition, so this session is within the framework of a follow-up of Nestlé’s social responsibility officially called shared value.”
She also declared that since 150 years after its creation, Nestlé has been very instrumental in creating resilience in their workforce and the public where they are operational. High nutrition standards have been required and practiced to transform the primary products supplied, into consumables. This, she went on, takes care of the long-term interests of future generations.
Dr. Ndomou Mathieu, guest speaker emphasized that milk consumption is particularly important for children at their infancy because of its riches in nutrients. Milk contains lipids especially for the development of the child’s brains among other micronutrients for the good functioning of the body. Milk contains Vitamins A which is good for the eyes, Vitamin D, Vitamins E, B1, B3, B6 for immunity, and minerals like Magnesium, Sodium, Calcium, Potassium, Phosphurous and more. Milk fights against infections.
Unfortunately, consumption of milk is very low in Cameroon. Statistic sourced show world average consumption is 45 litres a day. That of Cameroon stands at below 10 litres a day. Regions in Cameroon known to be of higher milk consumption are the Adamawa and the North-West. FAO statistics indicate that the annual consumption per head on average is 234 kg or 241 litres, in developed countries, while in underdeveloped countries, it drops to 69kg or 71 litres. In the North-West and Adamawa regions consumption is greater than the 10 litres average. Children should start with 6 months of breast milk and continue with cow milk. It was found out that the prices were not within the purchasing power of the consumers.
The FAO recommends that children within 2-8 years should consume two portions of milk which is 500 mlwhile 9-18 years go for 750 ml to 1000.