My previous post reviewing Aldi's Friendly Farms milk (Aldi's Milk vs. Everyone Else's Milk) probably left a little bit to be desired, so I've decided to do some more explaining and add some pictures. Above is a picture of the Aldi's milk label. I tried to find a photo of a Kemp's milk label so you could compare it more easily but it looks like I'll have to take one myself someday. Anyway looking at the label above, we see a number of things that every other milk label on gallons sold in the US has, like the red and white REAL symbol, what I think might be a variation of the Kosher dairy symbol to the right of it (K ribbon and D STAM), the usual notes that vitamin A & D have been added, the words "Grade A, Pasteurized, Homogenized, Fat Reduced from 8g to 5g", and so on. These are all the same symbols and wording found on all the other milk labels I've ever seen. Even the nutrition facts are the same.
The hormones question - does Aldi milk contain hormones?
Right at the top right, in a yellow burst, you'll see the phrase "Our Farmers Pledge NOT to use Artificial Growth Hormones*" and on the bottom of the label is the disclaimer that I guess must be attached to any product claiming that it doesn't use hormones to try and level the playing field for the rest of the milk companies that do, "*The FDA has determined that no significant difference has been shown between milk from rBST treated and non-treated cows." I take this to mean that Aldi milk contains no hormones.
The place of origin question - where is Aldi milk made?
Ok, now we know Aldi milk does not contain hormones. But if you're like me you've probably wondered where it comes from. Here's a fun trick: check out whereismymilkfrom.com and enter the code off the milk jug. It searches an official document containing registered dairy plant numbers and then locates their address on a map. Above is an image of our Aldi milk carton, plus a slightly zoomed in photo clearly showing the plant number, 27-168. Entering that into this tool reveals that Aldi milk in my area is made at a Kemps plant in Minneapolis, MN. This is the same plant where Kemps Select milk is made - I don't have a Kemps Select jug handy but I have tried this myself. (I can't imagine it would be cost effective to have two separate milk bottling lines going for these two different labels, it would save the company a lot of money to just put the same milk in both jugs.) This at least proves that Aldi milk is made at the same plants where other milk comes from.
Conclusions and final thoughts
I have noticed that Aldi milk at my local Aldi fluctuates in price by a dime or two. One week it will be $2.79 a gallon, the next it will be $2.89. Either way this is still cheaper than milk from the grocery store, where a gallon will run me $3.69. So even if you're not saving a whole dollar a week like my original post suggested, you're still better off than the people who grab the grocery store milk. So my conclusion is... drink up!
I am not affiliated with Aldi or whereismymilkfrom.com in any way, and I have provided their product images and website screenshots myself to illustrate, educate and entertain. Enjoy!
No hormones, but it's still loaded with antibiotics and pesticides.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a great way to undercut the increasingly belabored dairy farmer. Wholesale milk buyers, such as Aldi are driving local dairies out of business.
I love milk. A cold glass of milk is heaven.
Milk is also loaded with fat. The only healthy choice is 0%. I can't stand wholesale 0%. It tastes like water. That was before I had Organic Valley 0%. More healthy than any of the milk substitutes, and better tasting than wholesale milk or milk subs. If you haven't had it, you don't know what you're missing.
Hi Rec, and thanks for your comment. As I discovered while writing this review, the company that makes Aldi milk in my area is Kemps, so I'm not sure how that would mean that Aldi was driving local dairies out of business? I think Aldi is more of a middleman in that scene. Totally agree with you about milk not being healthy but still being delicious though! Thanks again for reading!
DeleteMilk is actually less healthy with ask of the fat removed from it. The fat, which it is naturally composed with, helps milk to be properly digested in our bodies. Most natural fats are actually Good for us. Unnatural and modified fats, such as hydrogenated fats, are the facts we should eliminate from our diets.
DeleteMilk is actually less healthy with ask of the fat removed from it. The fat, which it is naturally composed with, helps milk to be properly digested in our bodies. Most natural fats are actually Good for us. Unnatural and modified fats, such as hydrogenated fats, are the facts we should eliminate from our diets.
DeleteThank you for writing this! I was wondering the same things when I was in my new local Aldi store. :)
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ReplyDeleteHow can they say "no significant difference has been shown between milk from rBST treated and non-treated cow" when milk with this hormone is the one food oncologists will NOT buy for their families! There are plenty of studies showing links. The chemical company bullies are running the show, and that needs to stop! BOYCOT THEIR CRAP! Sorry....but that's what needs to happen. The American people need to use their buying power to shut it down.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information....very helpful. I'm going to pass it on and ask people to buy pass anything with grown hormones. Great to have a resource to check!!!
Hi please tell me this Aldi vitamin D milk is Harmonal milk or not?
ReplyDeleteRead my lips says the label. But...! the asterisk continues....just in case the smart cow farmers inject them cows with doping steroid hormones, well the quick crook govies say there is no significant difference. Why? Because dummy!... there is too many freeloading dummies like you around living too long n we need them to croak sooner than later, okey?!!
DeleteWhile it is true that they have studies which show that animal fat is healthy for us, they also have studies that show that pesticides, insecticides, harmones, and medicines such as antibiotics reside in animal fat, so that's why organic or meat and dairy produced without those things are healthier. It's also the same reason why it's healthier to keep our own body fat at a minimum.
ReplyDeleteThank you for looking into this! Just an FYI to everyone, I recently reached out to Aldi regarding their 'Countryside Creamery' butter and found out it is NOT free of synthetic hormones. I am disappointed Aldi puts their name on this product.
ReplyDelete"All bovine cows produce their own, biological bovine somatotropin (bST) sometimes
referred to as bovine growth hormone (bGH). The supplementation form of bST is referred
to as recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST).
Since 1993, the FDA determined the use of rbST as safe for the consumers of milk
products and has allowed dairy farmers the choice to use rbST.
AMPI does not require the milk supplied for its processing to be rbST-free."
Milk at Aldi's in north Alabama is only $0.89 a gallon!
ReplyDeleteAll of the milk (and meat) you buy in the store is antibiotic free, although there is no such thing as 'hormone free' since the animals produce their own hormones that are present in the milk/meat. If a cow is treated with rbST, there is no way to tell the difference between a cow not given the extra hormone. It just affects her metabolism and allows her to produce more milk from the feed she eats (read more efficient). Even if there was a difference in the milk, humans do not have the receptors to process rbST so it just gets broken down during digestion. Milk is tested at the farm for the presence of antibiotics and bacteria and proper storage temperature. If any of these are at an unacceptable level (again, ZERO tolerance for antibiotics), that tank is refused and the farmer does not get paid for it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for explaining this as a dairy farmer we fight all the time to straighten this misbelief out for the consumer. Also dont forget the part that treated cows are milked with seperate equipment to prevent cross contamination.
DeleteYes, thank you. I wish everyone knew these important details about farming. I see such crazy posts on the web these days!
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