Evolution of Milk Consumption and Its Psychological Determinants: A Mini-Review

Emerging Parameters Justifying a Revised Quality Concept for Cow Milk

Milk has become a staple food product globally. Traditionally, milk quality assessment has been primarily focused on hygiene and composition to ensure its safety for consumption and processing. However, in recent years, the concept of milk quality has expanded to encompass a broader range of factors. Consumers now also consider animal welfare, environmental impact, and the presence of additional beneficial components in milk when assessing its quality. This shifting consumer demand has led to increased attention on the overall production and sourcing practices of milk. Reflecting on this trend, this review critically explores such novel quality parameters, offering insights into how such practices meet the modern consumer's holistic expectations. The multifaceted aspects of milk quality are examined, revealing the intertwined relationship between milk safety, compositional integrity, and the additional health benefits provided by milk's bioactive properties. By embracing sustainable farming practices, dairy farmers and processors are encouraged not only to fulfill but to anticipate consumer standards for premium milk quality. This comprehensive approach to milk quality underscores the necessity of adapting dairy production to address the evolving nutritional landscape and consumption patterns.

Milk Quality Conceptualization: A Systematic Review of Consumers', Farmers', and Processing Experts' Views

Milk consumption has traditionally been recognized as a fundamental element of global dietary patterns due to its perceived nutritional advantages. Nonetheless, a substantial decrease in milk consumption has been identified within diverse populations in recent times. Specifically, consumers' expectations and representations of milk quality have undergone notable transformations, contributing to the observed reduction in consumption. The objective of this systematic review was to conduct a comprehensive examination and categorization of the conceptual attributes associated with milk quality, considering the representations of citizen-consumers, farmers, and processing experts. This review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The titles and abstracts of 409 articles were screened, and 20 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility. The results demonstrate the existence of a dual articulation in the conceptual definition of milk quality. Farmers and processing experts exhibited a relatively similar representation of milk quality, focusing on technical indicators. In contrast, citizen-consumers held more simplistic and subjective concepts that are challenging to quantify. This study emphasized the critical need for establishing a platform for communication and knowledge exchange to foster shared representations and expectations regarding milk quality.

Cross-sectional determinants of lactose-free food awareness and purchase among adult consumers

This research was conducted to evaluate the knowledge and purchasing behaviour of consumers regarding lactose-free foods. Study data were collected from 1882 individuals with the help of a questionnaire form. Attitudes towards animal welfare, healthy nutrition and gastrointestinal symptoms were also evaluated. The majority (86.6%) of the participants reported that they had heard of the concept of lactose-free foods before, but more than half (67.0%) did not report buying them because of their higher costs compared to regular products and lack of sufficient information. Not causing gas/bloating (32.5%) and being healthier (28.3%) were shown to be the most significant motivational factors in purchasing lactose-free foods (P < 0.05). The factors affecting purchase of lactose-free products were education, employment status, history of having a food intolerance test and animal welfare perception together with higher scores from the gastrointestinal symptom rating scale, and attitude scale for healthy nutrition (P < 0.05). Body mass index was not found to be an effective factor determining purchase intention. The results provide a general overview of consumers, however, further studies on other demographic groups are needed.