Jakarta –
“Watch out!” Thus, an employee of a supermarket reminded another friend to immediately get out of the way of the rush of shoppers who seemed to start scattering and frantically storming over and then fighting over a pile of cans of “bear milk” products. In the 30-second video that went viral, the scene ends with a shopping trolley collapsing and the contents of a milk can falling to the floor.
What an unusual sight; this is a phenomenon panic buying. As a person who has been directly involved in the dairy industry for almost 15 years, I was disturbed by the above incident. Because, bear brand milk (Bear Brand) is actually pure cow’s milk that has been sterilized, similar in nutritional content to other brands of milk with the same process. Nothing is significantly different.
But at the same time, I’m also aware of the greatness and magic of the genius and very creative people in the marketing team that accompanies this dairy product. Becomes market leader and can even be called as single player on the market for years is proof of that. They are able to instill the “magic” of bear branded cow’s milk very strongly in the minds of consumers. Consumers believe that milk is very special and can provide several health benefits.
However, when examined further, there is actually nothing too surprising about the above phenomenon. There are at least three things that can help understand the incident. First, spouting fake news or hoaxes about the efficacy of “bear milk”. The bursts are getting louder when the trend of Covid-19 cases is increasing and the government has started the Emergency PPKM.
Events made worse with feelings fear of death some people are finally willing to do recklessness to get “bear milk”. Hoax is information that is actually not true, but is made as if it is true. It is said that the benefits of “bear milk” are able to clean the lungs, remove toxins from the body, kill the Corona virus, and so on. Of course all this is denied by experts and health practitioners because of the lack of scientific or supporting evidence that exists.
Placebo Effect
Second, there is a placebo effect when consuming “bear milk”. Don’t underestimate it. The placebo effect refers to the fact that belief in the effectiveness of a treatment will generate hope that helps them move themselves to recovery, for example. Although still ethically controversial, the placebo effect has proven to be true.
The age of the bear brand milk product itself is more than 100 years in the world; first introduced in 1906 in Switzerland. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, he is more than 90 years old — he entered the country in 1930. At that time, initially “bear milk” could only be found in Chinese drug stores. It is believed to be able to treat disease, so its function is identical to medicine and not just a sterile milk drink. Since then, people have increasingly believed in the efficacy of this legendary brand of milk regardless of its nutritional content.
Third, there is still low nutritional literacy in the community. Interest in reading may be high, but reading power is not necessarily. There are unique and funny events; there are still some people who wonder, is it really a sterile milk product brand? Bear Brand does this contain bear milk? A proof that our nutritional literacy skills are still lacking. If the public is observant to check and read the packaging label on the product, it will not be found that there is not a single drop of bear’s milk added to the composition of the ingredients. Advertisements on TV or other digital media also make things worse because they never show pictures or images image cows as a source of milk in the ad.
Quoted from the FAO page, June 2020, regarding milk facts, it is stated that about 83% percent of world milk production is cow’s milk, the rest is about 14 percent buffalo milk, 3 percent goat or sheep milk and less than 1 percent camel milk. Therefore, cow’s milk products are very dominant among other types of milk. Of course there is no bear milk on this list.
Improving Nutrition Literacy
One nutritionist even went so far as to comment on the occurrence of stock shortages and the phenomenon of hunting and even fighting for “bear milk”, giving a little warning. tedampar to the general public, especially those who still want to follow the scramble. “Please be smart,” he said. The “bear milk” that was hunted and fought over was the same as the sterile milk of other brands.
Objectively, part of the goodness of pure cow’s milk is due to its high protein and mineral content. Each 1 cup (250 ml) contains about 7.7 g of protein or equivalent to 30% of the RDA (Nutrition Adequacy Ratio), referring to the Regulation of the Head of BPOM No. 9 of 2016 concerning Nutrition Label Reference or ALG. Likewise, the calcium content of 300 mg or equivalent to 46% of the RDA for children aged 1-3 years. Not to mention the phosphorus content of 250 mg or 50% RDA.
During a pandemic we do need high protein to replace damaged cells so that immunity is maintained. Unfortunately, the fat in cow’s milk is not healthy fat because it contains cholesterol.
Right now, during a pandemic, the most important thing is to always maintain the body’s immunity with a balanced diet, high-protein foods such as milk, high-fiber foods as a source of prebiotics that can improve digestion, such as fruits and vegetables. Do not forget to exercise regularly and get enough rest.
Milk is a good source of protein. However, the nutritional paradigm now prioritizes the fulfillment of balanced nutrition, so that milk is no longer a complement to nutritional needs, but is the same as other protein sources such as fish, meat, or soybeans. So are we still going on the hunt for “milk bears”?
Sunardi Siswodiharjo food engineer, UGM Food Technology alumnus, R&D Manager – Multinational Food Corporation (2009-2019), observer of nutrition and health issues
(mmu/mmu)
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