Ontario Dairy Council Fights Milk Container Size Restriction

Jul 28, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The province’s milk processors, represented by the Ontario Dairy Council, are pushing to open the market entirely to 3-litre milk jugs, giving processors and grocery stores the freedom to sell it as an alternative option to the 4-litre milk containers.

Currently, Mac’s Convenience Stores are the only retailers allowed to sell 3-litre plastic milk containers on a trial basis. In December, the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission, granted Mac’s permission to sell the new size of milk jugs as part of a one-year pilot initiative.

But the Ontario Dairy Council disagrees with the move and would rather see no restriction on container size. The battle will be taken up by the quasi-judicial Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal. According to the tribunal website, no date has been set for a hearing between the commission and the Ontario Dairy Council.

Milk container size is regulated under the province’s Milk Act, which is covered in Section 8 of Regulation 753: Size of Containers. The act prohibits containers smaller than 500 millilitres or larger than 4 litres, but there are currently no restrictions on 1L, 1.5L, 2L containers, however, 3-litre containers are forbidden.

In an emailed statement, Graham Lloyd, general counsel for Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) provided comment on the disagreement, and said that the Ontario Dairy Council is opposed to the commission’s decision to test the milk market for 3-litre plastic jugs, not DFO.

“Dairy Farmers of Ontario wants to grow and develop the fluid milk market and supported a test market for another option for consumers. We supported a test market to see if that would grow the fluid market,” he said.

Video: Sweetener Effects on Gut Health - Dr. Kwangwook Kim

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Kwangwook Kim, Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, discusses the use of non-nutritive sweeteners in nursery pig diets. He explains how sucralose and neotame influence feed intake, gut health, metabolism, and the frequency of diarrhea compared to antibiotics. The conversation highlights mechanisms beyond palatability, including hormone signaling and nutrient transport. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Receptors responsible for sweet taste are present not only in the mouth but also along the intestinal tract.”

Meet the guest: Dr. Kwangwook Kim / kwangwook-kim is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University, specializing in swine nutrition and feed additives under disease challenge models. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Sciences from the University of California, Davis, where he focused on intestinal health and metabolic responses in pigs. His research evaluates alternatives to antibiotics, targeting gut health and performance in nursery pigs.