Dairy

Residents living near the Rosenberger Dairies property in East Bradford have appeared before the Planning Commission to oppose plans to develop the site as a retail commercial center. Developer William Freas asked the commission on Tuesday to comment on revised plans for development of the property. The original plans showed the construction of a commercial center and townhouses, but the new proposal is for a commercial complex only. Freas plans to appear before the Zoning Board to request a zoning change for the portion of the site that is zoned for residential use. But residents living near the dairy, at Neal Street and Route 52, are concerned about the increased traffic that a retail center would produce.

An attorney for Bechtel Dairies Inc. says he will ask a federal judge to lift the order that froze the company's assets and accused it of selling diluted and adulterated milk to local schools, federal veterans' hospitals and stores. Geoffrey L. Beauchamp described as "baseless" allegations made against Bechtel Dairies in a civil lawsuit filed last week by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Beauchamp said that tomorrow he would ask for an emergency hearing on the restraining order and seek to have it lifted.

Question: I've heard that calcium can interfere with the absorption of certain prescription medications. Does that include almond milk, yogurt, and cheese, too? Answer: Dairy products and calcium can bind up certain medications in the stomach, reducing their absorption and efficacy. Almond "milk" is not actually a dairy product, however, so it does not have this effect. Medications whose absorption can potentially be reduced by the dairy products or calcium supplements include: Levaquin and Cipro antibiotics; iron supplements; osteoporosis drugs like Fosamax and Actonel; Synthroid (levothyroxine)

Kraft General Foods yesterday said it would close the Philadelphia headquarters of its National Dairy Products Corp., which employs 203 people. The company said it expected that at least half the 165 management employees would be transferred to other Kraft and General Foods offices in White Plains, N.Y., and Glenview, Ill. The others will be laid off, but may be offered other jobs with Kraft. The office, in Seven Penn Center, manages several dairy food brands, including its Sealtest and Cool Whip frozen desserts and the company's sour cream, cheese and yogurt brands.

The company chairman, Harry Goldberg, is 87. His son, Raymond, the president and chief executive, is 62. Then there's Ray's son Rick, the executive vice president. And Ray's daughter, Robin Goldberg Batoff, who's director of marketing. If you've surmised that this is a family business of some duration, you are correct. And what a business this Penn Maid is. In contrast to the many regional dairy companies that have long since folded to giants like Sealtest and Kraft, Penn Maid Foods Inc. still flies proudly the independent family colors of the smiling cow, Queenie.

If you are a coffee drinker who reaches eagerly for powdered, non-dairy creamers for your brew, thinking they are somehow better for you than milk, half-and-half or real cream, two Nebraska researchers suggest that you think again. In fact, say the two researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the two chief ingredients in 22 of the 25 non-dairy coffee whiteners on the market have a pronounced ability to increase the concentrations of potentially harmful fat levels in the blood.

Wawa Inc. is ready to start next week on a $30 million, five-year expansion of its dairy and warehouse operations off Baltimore Pike. At a meeting Monday night, the Township Council voted, 4-0, to approve final plans for Wawa, with a list of conditions that included correcting the odor problem stemming from the dairy's pre-treatment sewage plant. Wawa officials have said that the company has more than 500 convenience stores and expects that number to double by the turn of the century.

Wawa Inc. does not want to leave its home town, but its dairy definitely is facing growing pains, company officials say. In 1929, when the dairy was built, it produced milk primarily for home delivery. All that changed in 1964, when Wawa opened its first convenience store. Wawa now has 516 stores, and expects that number to double by the turn of the century, said Vincent Anderson, Wawa vice president and general counsel. To meet its stores' growing demand for milk and juice, Wawa must expand its dairy and warehouse operations, he said.

WATER ICE IS A cherished summer institution in Philly, and those of us who skip dairy, whether for ethical, health or other concerns, can appreciate this cool vegan treat. Sorbet, Popsicles, frozen fruit bars and the like are also delish. But let's face it: "You can always have water ice [or sorbet]" is the cool-treat equivalent of "you can always have a salad. " Nothing against salad or water ice, but we sometimes want that singular richness and flavor associated with ice cream.

Wawa Inc. reached a tentative agreement last night on a contract with 300 members of the Teamsters Union, averting - at least temporarily - what would have been the first strike in the 97-year history of the Delaware County convenience-store and dairy operator. The agreement, still to be ratified by members of Teamsters Local 463 at a meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning, covers truck drivers and workers at Wawa's dairy and warehouse. Union spokesman Bob Ryder said the local's negotiating committee considered the contract the company's "last and best offer" but wouldn't recommend it to the membership.

DANVILLE, Vt. - Small dairy farmers in the Northeast and Wisconsin say a tough year has been made worse by Congress' failure to pass a new farm bill before the old one expired. While many farm programs have continued through the harvest season even though the farm bill expired Sept. 30, a program that pays dairy farmers when milk prices plummet has ended. Many dairy farms were already struggling with low milk prices and high fuel and feed costs as the worst drought in decades dried up grazing land and pushed up the price of hay and feed.

Consumers will pay a little more for coffee and chocolate to ensure that the farmers who produce those foods get a fair wage. So why not ask them to pay more for milk? That's the notion behind a Vermont-based program designed to raise money for struggling New England dairy farms while educating consumers about those family businesses. Keep Local Farms urges colleges, universities, and other institutions in New England to charge a little more for milk, with the extra money going to the farmers.

IF YOU DRINK cow's milk, it's likely that at one point or another you had to be talked into it. "Getting kids to drink milk" is a well-recognized meme (try Googling the phrase) in song, story and parenting guides, because the beverage is not, apparently, something we take to automatically. But with enough "wholesome" spin (in 2007 the Federal Trade Commission forced the National Dairy Council to retract unfounded health claims) and government-funded campaigns (remember the U.S. Department of Agriculture's team-up with Domino's to sell more cheese per pizza?

Drink size a public-health issue New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's decision to limit the size of sugary-drink containers in that city has resurrected the age-old debate over the role of the state in protecting the public's health. In recent years, this debate involved bicycle helmets, car seat belts, tobacco, trans fats, saturated fats in meat and dairy products, and sugar (or, more aptly, high-fructose corn syrup). Public subsidies for tobacco, meat, dairy, and corn production added fuel to the debate.

When Francis G. Brown received his draft notice for World War II military service, he replied: "My beliefs upon which I claim exemption stem from a very fundamental religious principle. ... "There is something of God in every man. I believe that all men, viewed thus, are infinitely precious and are therefore entitled to be treated with respect. ... "War submerges the good in men and brings out fear, hate, and distrust. ... Therefore, I affirm that all war, whether offensive or defensive, is morally wrong.

NAIROBI, Kenya - Got milk? Pass the butter? Not in Kenya, where both of those staples are increasingly scarce because a drought-induced dairy shortage is wreaking havoc on the milk, butter, and yogurt shelves. Grocery store owners, restaurant managers, and customers are annoyed and frustrated that an item as basic as butter is almost impossible to find in what is frequently billed as East Africa's largest economy. Farmers are producing only 30 percent of the country's needs, causing milk prices to shoot up in recent weeks by nearly a third.

Kristian Holbrook's been trying to perfect Hummingbird for nine years. "And I'm still trying," says the cheesemaker at Doe Run, the Chester County dairy on Urban Outfitters founder Dick Hayne's estate. Holbrook's modesty is really admiration for Robiola Bosina, the luscious Italian that was his inspiration. But creamy Hummingbird, which flows with the fresh tang of both sheep and cow's milk, was good enough for a coveted first prize in 2011 from the American Cheese Society. Holbrook makes several other fine cheeses, including an aged, gouda-like Seven Sisters.

William L. Rosenberger, 84, a retired president of Rosenberger's Dairies, which was founded by his father and grandfather on the family farm in 1925, died of complications from a stroke Thursday at the Dock Woods Community in Lansdale. In his 64 years with the family business, Mr. Rosenberger was known for doing whatever it took to make sure milk arrived on porch doorsteps or on supermarket shelves. Mr. Rosenberger delivered milk door-to-door in glass bottles and hauled large cans of it on company trucks.

WATER ICE IS A cherished summer institution in Philly, and those of us who skip dairy, whether for ethical, health or other concerns, can appreciate this cool vegan treat. Sorbet, Popsicles, frozen fruit bars and the like are also delish. But let's face it: "You can always have water ice [or sorbet]" is the cool-treat equivalent of "you can always have a salad. " Nothing against salad or water ice, but we sometimes want that singular richness and flavor associated with ice cream.

Question: I've heard that calcium can interfere with the absorption of certain prescription medications. Does that include almond milk, yogurt, and cheese, too? Answer: Dairy products and calcium can bind up certain medications in the stomach, reducing their absorption and efficacy. Almond "milk" is not actually a dairy product, however, so it does not have this effect. Medications whose absorption can potentially be reduced by the dairy products or calcium supplements include: Levaquin and Cipro antibiotics; iron supplements; osteoporosis drugs like Fosamax and Actonel; Synthroid (levothyroxine)