real,- introduces fresh milk under its own brand

No more ESL milk under the real,- QUALITY and real,- BIO own brands

Moenchengladbach, 5th October 2009 – With immediate effect, the supermarket company real,- will only be selling conventional fresh milk and organic fresh milk under its own brands real,- QUALITY and real,- BIO. For three years, real,- has additionally offered ESL (extended shelf life) milk in its supermarkets which, during this time, has taken over the predominant share of the milk range.
“Our sales figures show that ESL milk has since become accepted and very well re-ceived by customers. With the reintroduction of traditional fresh milk additionally under our own brand, we are reacting to numerous customer requests expressed in recent months. In addition to ESL milk, we are now again stocking an alternative in our range,” said Klaus Sauer, Managing Director of Food at real,- SB-Warenhaus GmbH.

The dairy product range of real,- encompasses 1,000 items, including over 20 different types of milk. real,- is one of the few retailers in Germany that still currently offer traditional fresh milk. However, ESL milk will continue to be available on the shelves of real,- stores alongside the new products because many shoppers choose it for its longer shelf life of up to 21 days.

ESL milk represents a midpoint between fresh milk and UHT milk. It tastes almost like fresh milk, but it can be kept for a considerably longer period of time. There is no dif-ference between fresh milk and ESL milk with regard to nutritional content and vitamin content, a fact backed up by scientific tests. In July 2009, scientists from the state-run Max-Rubner Institute in Kiel graded ESL milk as a high-quality food irrespective of the manufacturing process. However, many consumers request traditional milk prod-ucts, even if they have a shorter shelf life than ESL or UHT milk.