Theland UHT Whole Milk 3.6g protein (1L)

Origin

This product is made in New Zealand.

Milk is only sourced from cows in New Zealand.

The cows live outside on paddocks throughout the year, roaming freely under New Zealand’s typical 2,000 annual sunshine hours.

Cows graze on fresh pasture as their primary food source. To ensure that their nutritional needs are met, the cows are provided with supplementary feed during winter and poor weather conditions.

Dairy farming practices in New Zealand varies depending on region and season, as climate factors influences grass nutrition and growth.

To ensure efficient use of farmland and continuous supply of pasture, fields are rotated regularly with cow herds being allocated to a specific paddock during each rotation.

In New Zealand, over the entire dairy season there is on average approximately 1 hectare of farmland for every 2-3 cows. With farm rotation, at any given time the cow-to-field density will vary depending on local farming practices, seasonality, weather conditions and cow's natural inclination to form groups as a herd animal.

Milking

The cows are typically milked a maximum of twice a day during the peak dairy season, reducing to once a day in the lower season.

Theland Supply Chain

Select into any part of the supply chain to view the verified activities and assurances at each step, from the farm to the glass.

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The Farm

Farm Assurances

Third-party auditing (by AsureQuality Limited) of Risk Management Programs (RMP) for all farms.

Health checks and tests are regularly undertaken on cows and their milk.

Any infected or unhealthy animals are separated from the herd, and their milk withheld until the animal is healthy.

Water that comes into contact with the milking process is tested at an accredited laboratory to ensure safety.

Milk is tested for harmful bacteria, chemical residues and contaminants at a recognised laboratory.

Milk is cooled immediately to 4-7 degrees Celcius and stored on the farm for less than a day to keep it fresh.

Milk is picked up daily from the farm by refrigerated tanker trucks and transported to the factory.

All tankers have an automatic computer controlled milk sampling system on board.

Milk is not collected if the temperature, colour or flavour is not to the highest specification.

The Factory

Milk is transported from farms to the processing factory. The factory is registered with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNCA).

Factory Assurances

Samples of milk are taken upon arrival at the factory and tested before the tanker is emptied.

The milk is standardised according to CODEX regulations and sterilised by heating to 138˚C.

Samples are taken and tested during processing to ensure the milk product is of the highest standard.

Factory processes are regularly audited by Government owned AsureQuality to ensure Risk Management Plan requirements are being met.

The sterilised milk is packaged into individual cartons (133 cartons per minute).

All product units are individually coded with date, time, line number, and jaw number for traceability.

AsureQuality's accredited laboratories test the final product.

Once all laboratory tests are completed and passed, New Zealand's Ministry for Primary Industries issues a health certificate, making it eligible for export.
A health certificate must be issued before any product leaves the factory .

All products are stacked in pallet sized units, stretch wrapped and barcoded for traceability.

The product is loaded into a shipping container, which is then locked.

A numbered Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) seal is applied to the container.

The container is loaded onto an approved vehicle for delivery to the wharf.

Transport

The containers of product are delivered from the factory to the wharf.

Transport Assurances

The transport company that makes this delivery must have a current New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries Risk Management Program before it can freight any dairy products, as per the Animal Products Act, 1999.

The transport company is audited regularly by accredited personnel to ensure that standards are being met and maintained.

The approved shipping company receive the containers at the wharf and prepare the shipment.

Shipping

New Zealand and China have a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the People’s Republic of China and New Zealand in 2008, the first free trade agreement that China has signed with any developed country.

The shipping company must ensure that the products are accompanied by all EAD (export accompanied documents) that is required by the importing country, including:

• A NZ-China FTA Certificate of Origin, which is designed to give Assurance to China Customs that the product is produced in New Zealand and complies with the FTA with China.

• Customs documents

• Health Certificates (are issued by the NZ Ministry of Primary Industries, to ensure the product complies with both the NZ Food Regulations and Chinese Government Requirements)

• Certificates of Analysis (contain actual laboratory results from chemical, microbial and physical tests)

• Any other documentation required by the importing country must be completed and approved before it can be loaded on-board (this includes import permits and registration with the General Administration of the Peoples Republic of China for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine AQSIQ)

The product is shipped to China and checked by China Customs on arrival. China Customs check the import documentation to confirm all requirements have been met and may test the product again prior to releasing it into the country.

Once cleared, the product is sent to the distribution warehouse.

China Eastern Airline

The products arrive at the warehouse, where they are managed using barcoding and traceability systems. No product leaves the warehouse until it receives a final quality check.

Theland UHT Whole Milk (3.6g protein) 1L is distributed exclusively to China Eastern Airline.

The AQ Assured™ brand and QR code are available for consumers to scan in order to be sure of the safety and quality measures undertaken throughout the product supply chain.

Environmental

Theland’s New Zealand milk comes from cows that live outside on paddocks throughout the year.

Outdoor grazing is one factor that New Zealand dairy farmers leverage to achieve the world’s lowest carbon footprint for milk production. This is evidenced by international carbon benchmarking studies.

New Zealand’s dairy farmers are committed to ensuring that the dairy sector remains an efficient producer of low emissions milk by working to further reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced on farm.

Reduction targets for greenhouse emissions (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane) are outlined within the New Zealand’s Government Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Act.

Theland UHT Whole Milk (3.6g protein) 1L, is produced in compliance with New Zealand's Resource Management Act (2009), and local council Resource Management Plans, which set out rules and regulations around management of the New Zealand environment.

These rules include:

• Disposing of waste in ways that prevent pollution
• Controlling manufacturing emissions to ensure air quality is maintained
• Using only approved chemicals in a way that will not harm the environment
• Operating within a safe distance of waterways to avoid erosion and protect water quality
• Nutrient management

Social & Ethical

Animal Welfare

All milk suppliers for Theland products are obligated to meet the New Zealand Animal Welfare Standards .

The standards require animals to be allowed the following five freedoms;

Freedom to display normal patterns of behaviour
Freedom from thermal and physical discomfort
Freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition
Freedom from distress
Freedom from, or rapid treatment of, illness or injury

Safety & Quality

Laboratory Tested for Safety & Quality

Theland UHT Whole Milk (3.6g protein) 1L, is laboratory tested for safety & quality throughout the production process using both factory (in-house) and independent, accredited laboratories.

Testing is undertaken at each step from raw milk collection, during processing, and again upon completion of the final product.

This testing regime ensures the final products meet the nutritional descriptions on their label.

Samples are tested for bacteria and other contaminants.

Produced under New Zealand Government Regulations

New Zealand has Acts and Regulations in place to ensure all dairy products produced are safe for consumers and that manufacturers use fair and sustainable practices. All dairy products must comply with the Animal Products Act, 1999 and all milk suppliers must meet the New Zealand Animal Welfare standards.

These regulations include:
• No hormones or growth promotants are permitted
• All food safety hazards must be controlled using Codex based Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles
• All chemicals used on a manufacturing site must be approved by the New Zealand Government’s Ministry for Primary Industries
• Hygiene standards for facilities, equipment and people must be met
• All producers, manufacturers, transporters, packing and storage facilities operate a Risk Management Programme

Meets Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMAR)

Theland UHT Whole Milk (3.6g protein) 1L, meets the market access requirements of the countries to which it exports.

Auditing

The milk processor's factory environment, processes and records are routinely audited in order to uphold their Risk Management Programme (RMP) and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) and other certifications.

There are also unannounced regulatory (Ministry for Primary Industries) audits conducted randomly to ensure compliance.

Nutrition

The 100% raw milk sourced from New Zealand is standardised according to CODEX regulations.

Theland UHT Milk, contains no added colouring agents, sweeteners, thickening agents, gelatin, or preservatives.

This product contains 100% natural protein. Protein is important for the growth and repair of the body’s cells and for building muscle.

This product contains calcium an important source of nutrition for building strong, dense bones early in life, and keeping bones strong and healthy in later life.

PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES VERIFIED BY AQ ASSURED