How much water is added to cow's milk alternatives?

Food & Drink
1

Cows milk is still subsidised though so I think the true price is out a little - although that is what we pay today!

I wonder if you could put the % of water added both in the end product, and also the % of water required per litre manufactured. Because otherwise some of the milk alternatives would be seriously expensive!

Also plant milks do not require the body to release calcium to neutralise the acid forming substances in cows milk. Contrary to popular belief the ‘calcium’ in cows milk does not build strong teeth & bones, so I am told by vegans in my office.
Cheers, CaptainCook

2

Welcome and thank you for your question.

Who provides this subsidy? Do you have any details of how it works?

What makes you think any water is added to cow’s milk during processing?

I am not sure what you mean by this. Perhaps you could tell us more about what you mean.

4 Likes
3

Dear @CaptainCook, welcome to the community.

Milk isn’t subsidised in Australia…like that which occurs in other countries such as the EU. I am not sure where you got this information from.

This is a myth and the vegans are wrong. The easiest way to prove this is the case is human breast milk contains calcium (320gm/L) which is important for a babies growth and development. The human digestive systems has evolved to absorb calcium from such sources. Cow’s milk contains similar forms of calcium which the human body has evolved to easily digest and absorb.

Every qualified nutritionist will also advise that milk is an excellent source of calcium for the body.

7 Likes
4

Products which use the name ‘MILK’ are regulated by Food Standards ANZ. The only milk which has water added is the milk you make at home from dehydrated milk powder.

Farmers are payed based on the percentage of milk fats in the milk. The higher the milk fats, the more they get paid per litre. No farmer would ever intentionally dilute their milk down with water because they would lose money by doing that. Water is used but only to clean and sterilize the equipment, and to clean the muck off cows teats before the suction cups are attached.

To the best of my knowledge, no water is added to dairy products by the processors.

4 Likes
5

In regards to powder milk i have no idea how it compares to fresh milk. Maybe choice should do testing on powder milk to see if it is of benefit. Purely in basis of nutritional value.

6

From Dairy Australia:
"Cows milk powder is made by removing the water from fresh cows milk through spray drying, reducing the moisture level to just 3%.

The nutrients remain the same after spray drying, however are much more concentrated in the powdered form"

From that, you can assume that nutritionally it will be identical to the equivalent fresh milk.

3 Likes
7

Thanks for researching and the info.

It should be the same providing it is stored appropriately and used with best before/after opening dates.

As milk is pasteurised, there isn’t any microbiological differences either. However, the longer fresh or powdered milk is stored, the higher the risk of spoiling bacteria/fungi being present. There may be differences in the nature of and speed of spoiling between a powder and liquid milk.

3 Likes
8

Thank you for information. I don’t know if choice has tested different milks in regards to the quality. Eg almond milk soy milk included normal cows milk

2 Likes
9

Indeed it has: Choosing the best milk alternative. They have also looked at How to buy the best milk.

1 Like
10

My question was really pointed at how much water is added to almond, soy and oat milks to make up the volume to 1 litre. All very well to call it almond milk, but how much is added water?

11

Since the ‘milk’ is being made out of a solid in each case the amount of added water doesn’t tell you much - it is almost all added. If you want to find out how much almond (for example) is in a litre of almond milk you will find that on the packet and also in the Choice review (member content). There is quite a variation. You will also find quite a few other ingredients that have nothing to do with almonds.

2 Likes
12

The following may be member content only

A report done by CHOICE into Almond milk can be read at

Oat Milk

Like real milk (around 88% water naturally present) the proportion of water in them will be extremely high.

4 Likes
13

One has to remember cow’s milk is mainly water, and almonds, oats or soybeans don’t make milk.

Almonds, oats and soybeans are milled and otherwise treated to allow them to be suspended in water, to mimic the solids suspend in cow’s milk.

Almonds, oats and soybeans suspension in water, or ‘milk’ has significantly less nutritional value than the same weight of almonds, oats and soybeans, as the almonds, oats and soybeans is diluted to create the suspension.

Cow’s milk is what it is, and isn’t diluted or other products in a suspension.

Almond, oat and soy(bean) ‘milk’ is a poor nutritional replacement to the whole food version of almonds, oats and soybeans. This is because it’s natural nutritional value has been diluted with water (and potentially has unwanted additives such as sugar, salt, preservatives etc). This is different to cow’s milk which is just cow’s milk. It hasn’t been diluted nor modified, other than potentially heating (pasteurisation) to ensure that it is safe to drink…and homogenisation, to ensure that it doesn’t separate when stored.

There are adulterated versions of milk, where things are removed (cream/fats or lactose) or added such in the case of flavoured drinks.

Maybe almond, oat and soy(bean) milk compares to flavoured milk…where the base liquid (water or cow’s milk) has been modified through additives to change it flavour and look.

3 Likes
14

Raw cows milk is what it is. Milk in the fridge at a store is a little different.

Processed and packaged it is a standardised product with specified minimum nutrient and fat content. Cows are not so precise in their product. Tap water is not added. Most of the cream is extracted from the milk, before the final milk product is adjusted in process.

Comparing cow or animal based milk with plant based milk. The two types of product are not the same. IE not equivalent in all respects.

EG Dairy:

EG Soya Milk
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/soymilk

The two types of products appear to have as much and as little in common as colas do with pure orange juice.

1 Like
15

Thanks, good answer. Food for thought there given the preference for Almond milk in my office.

2 Likes
16

In a way, this discussion misses the key issue concerning so-called ‘cow’s milk alternatives’, which is that every one of these ‘alternatives’ is actually a legitimate food-stuff in its own right, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, and each its own rightful place in at least some people’s diet. That this is so can be seen clearly if the question is rephrased: “Is cow’s milk a reasonable alternative to [your choice of bean, nut or grain] milk?”. For many people, the answer is an immediate and resounding no!

The reasons why some people reject cow’s milk as a … let’s call it ‘vegan liquid’ alternative … are many and complex, including allergies and intolerances, plus social and psychological factors. Each of these factors is, to the person concerned, at very least important, and sometimes life-critical. Nobody (other than perhaps small babies) drinks any of these alternatives as a ‘complete food’ (meaning: nutritionally speaking, where nothing extra is needed), so every option, whether milk, soy or whatever, is supplementary to the rest of a person’s diet. So, while it is true that there are people who enjoy free choice of liquid, and thus have the option of fussing over taste, nutrients or water content, there are no one-size-fits-all conclusions to be drawn.

All of which raises the further question of how Choice is best to communicate its product testing and evaluation. In all of the Choice testing and buyer’s guides that I have read so far, all are written as if the social ‘common wisdom’ is the only legitimate viewpoint, with alternative perspectives either ignored or talked down to (as in bland instructions to ‘speak to your doctor’, without the essential guidance that not all doctors agree about everything, and that some have knowledge that is more specialised than others).

1 Like
17

If there is no consensus in the medical profession I don’t see how Choice can venture into medical advice.

1 Like
18

My instant retort: ‘hasn’t stopped Choice so far’!

Medicine has two aspects, one to do with science (research and testing), plus another to do with practical interpretation of that science (e.g. which of all the possible pills, food-stuffs, jabs etc. should a doctor prescribe). Both fields contain a mix of agreement and dispute, some of which derives from (often unavoidable) ambiguity in the scientific method, and some of which derives from the fact that human beings are all different from each other. Picking a ‘the-most-common-size-fits-all’ answer, as Choice does at present, also means that its advice is sub-optimal in a very many cases.

19

So what is the solution, display all the possibilities?

20

No; that would obviously be going from one extreme to another. With eight billion human beings on the planet, each different from every other, that would mean a potential listing of eight billion or more different options. Which, I suggest, would be as silly as the current practice of assuming just one is the right answer. The middle ground is to begin with an assumption that ‘conventional wisdom’ is useful for only some people, and poor or bad advice for others.

At the heart of my argument is an assumption that Choice buying guides (in whatever format) should tell the truth, the whole truth, and leave readers able to make as fully-formed decisions as space allows. Given that buyer’s guides are relatively short, while the information that they COULD contain is of infinite length, the primary challenge is to highlight the issues that buyers need to consider in their choices. If the present ‘milk alternative’ buyers guide is a fair example of all Choice buyer’s guides, then Choice is deeply failing.

This guide begins under the heading ’ What is the best alternative to dairy milk?':

*Cow’s milk is usually seen as the benchmark for liquid nourishment. It’s recognised as a good source of many nutrients, including protein, iodine, vitamin A, vitamin D, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B12, zinc, and – importantly – calcium.

This statement is begins with two hidden assumptions and an open proposition:

  1. Hidden assumption #1: Vitamin content is the only factor worth considering in choosing a benchmark for liquid nourishment. There are, however, very many other factors that buyers might wish to consider - including, most importantly to those with a cow’s milk allergy, whether or not it will kill you. Any half-way reasonably buyer’s guide would have flagged these right at the beginning.

  2. Hidden assumption #2: That a distinction between liquid nourishment and liquid refreshment is somehow meaningful within the context of people reading a buyer’s guide. Given that the topic of the day was ‘alternative to dairy milk’, this is seriously off-topic.

  3. Questionable assertion: “Cow’s milk is usually seen as the benchmark for liquid nourishment”. By whom? Vegans? Mad scientists? Fake news writers? Without detail, this statement is rubbish. If the writer wishes to invoke expert knowledge, then it is mandatory to state what kind of expert.

…

I could go through the rest of that buyer’s guide para by para, but I guess that would be tedious. Suffice to say, every paragraph fails the test of a buyer’s guide, in that either it hides the issues that a buyer should consider, sneers at them for considering the ‘wrong’ issues, or insults their intelligence by gross oversimplification.

(Oh, and in case you think I am a Choice-hater (if there is such a thing), I have been reading Choice buyer’s guides for over 60 years; this just happens to be the first time that I have been in a position to express my annoyance at their lack-of-total-perfection.)

1 Like