Where Giant Eagle Milk Comes From

Around the time I visited Turner Dairy, I noticed an announcement from Giant Eagle that all milk sold under their brand name was sourced from farmers who certify that they do not use rBGH (aka rBST) in their milk production—which is fantastic; anyone who has read descriptions of the udder sores and infections that cows given the hormone suffer must realize that there is a price to be paid for the 10% increased milk production the hormone causes. While the FDA says that there is no significant difference between milk from cows given the hormones and milk from cows not given the hormones, I’d disagree—even if the two substances appear the same in laboratory tests, the comfort and well-being f the animal providing the milk is of definite concern to me.

I also like to buy my foodstuffs from as local of a source as possible, which led me to ask, where does Giant Eagle milk come from? I finally heard back about where Giant Eagle milk comes from: Dean Dairy. I got a phone call from Annie at Dean, who reported that the processing plant for the milk is in Sharpsville, PA; and that 85-90% of it comes from farms in Pennsylvania, with the balance being sourced from Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She says that there is no difference between milk sold under the Giant Eagle label and the milk sold under the Dean label—Dean just acts as the provider for Giant Eagle’s store brand.


Though there is no mention of the Giant Eagle label in any of dean’s promotional material (as is common among such proprietary agreements), it is evident that Dean is a big player in the milk world: a glimpse at the ‘milk’ page of Dean’s website shows over 30 brands of milk products that are marketed by Dean under various labels, including one that is unique to Hawaii. Additionally, Dean is a major player in the frozen vegetable market (they own the Birds Eye label) and sell a substantial amount of pickles, as well. According to one report, nearly two-thirds of their pickle sales are under private label agreements. By all accounts, Dean is a big corporation. Their path to being so big, though, came from thinking regionally:

Most often, Dean absorbed well-known regional brands and companies that were small and healthy. Dean provided them with infusions of capital–especially to upgrade facilities–and access to marketing and management expertise.

Dean was remarkable for its decentralized management structure, allowing acquired companies relative autonomy. In nearly all cases, acquired companies saw increased earnings within a year or two of joining the Dean family. With one exception, all acquisitions through 1992 were privately held companies, often family owned. While other industry giants relied on brand-name, premium-priced products, Dean made its reputation through low-margin markets, providing regionally labeled goods to leading grocery chains and restaurants. For this reason, the Dean name was often not as recognized as some of its regional product lines. The company built its success on local favorites. (source)

As far as the Giant Eagle announcement in February that their milk would be hormone free, there are some indications that the move was prompted by a business decision at the Dean level, as opposed to at the Giant Eagle level. For instance, some farmers in the Lancaster area are upset about being forced into going hormone-free. As far as they’re concerned, the hormones are a proven herd-management tool. While the label specifically cited in this article is Swiss Premium, if the milks for various labels are co-mingled, that’s a decision that would have to go across the board to all of their other labels in order to work.

Not everything Dean does in the dairy industry is as responsible as their decision to go hormone-free, though: a 1996 $4 million decision against Dean for Clean Water Act violations at its Belleville dairy plant cited specific recklessness on the part of the corporation: “The court held that Dean’s six year delay in adequately addressing the violations was motivated by the prospect of higher profits it could earn from keeping production levels high for as long as possible.” The Belleville plant cited in the decision is slated to close in October of this year.

I wish I had some great conclusion to all of this: some sort of what it means, but I don’t.  The court decision related to the Belleville plant came 12 years before the company’s decision to close it, so it’s probably not related.  there aren’t any more recent environmental actions against the company that I can find, so it’s quite possible that they realized the folly of their recklessness as a result of the court decision and changed their ways.  While a large corporation, they are built on a foundation of regional, traditionally family-owned brands; while not the same as being family-owned, it does say something about the company that their m.o. is to improve the conditions at their acquired plants while allowing them to retain autonomy.

For me, in the end, the decision of what milk I should buy often comes down to convenience.  I appreciate the hormone free pledge that the extends into Giant Eagle milk; and because I do much of my shopping at Giant Eagle, that’s what I often buy–it’s tough for me to justify an extra drive/ an extra bike ride out of my way to get a gallon of milk.  Still, it seems somewhat indecent for milk to be trucked in from MI, IN, and WI for consumption in Pgh–even if it’s only 10-15% of the total volume, that volume adds up quick.

8 Responses to “Where Giant Eagle Milk Comes From”

  1. Troy Says:

    I wonder where Giant Eagle’s organic line of milk comes from?

    When it was first introduced it was certified organic by OEFFA (of Ohio) and was pasteurized.

    Now it is certified by QAI (large international certifier), and is Ultra Pasteurized.

  2. Fillippelli the Cook Says:

    For a while now, we’ve been buying Organic Valley. Far from local, but rated very highly by the Cornucopia Institute. I have thought long and hard about moving to raw milk, and wish I had easier access to Natural by Nature, which is all from grass-fed cows and mostly from farms in Pa., I believe. I am hoping that when McGinnis Sisters opens in Cranberry/Seven Fields, they carry it.

  3. Troy Says:

    I think Frankferd Farms is still carrying Natural by Nature milk . . .I know they have their butter and some other products.

    I think you may have to pre-order it. Give them a call to find out.

    http://frankferd.com/

  4. Lisa Says:

    Fascinating post. I’m rather amused that Giant Eagle and Dean milk are the same, as the Dean packaging gives me the heeby jeebies and I can never bring myself to buy it…

    I also like the Organic Valley milk. I think it tastes fantastic. I’m curious if anyone’s tried the raw milk from the food co-op.

  5. jwsharrard Says:

    If you want some more info on raw milk, follow the “milk’ category that this article is listed under… I’ve got a couple of different articles on raw milk. My conclusion: a taste curiosity that’s worth trying if you can get it from a place that’s licensed by the PA Dept. of Agriculture, but that there are way too many variables at play to make it something worth drinking on a regular basis.

    That, and the Weston A. Price people kind of creep me out with their over the top claims of its wonderfulness. Whilst complaining that the pasteurization camp relies heavily on studies performed in the 1920’s and 30’s, WAP does exactly that–and also relies on claims from scientists who operated in an age when the sun was believed to revolve around the earth.

  6. Troy Says:

    I’m not a regular milk drinker . . . being lactose intolerant, if I drink milk, I soon find myself in the bathroom. As for raw milk and cheese, I can drink and eat it without any problems. I learned from WAP that the enzymes left in raw milk aid in the digestion process, so at least that part of their education was true for me. As for raw milk, I’d go a step further . . . only buy from a PA raw milk licensed dairy, and make sure the cow is grass fed, not grain fed.

    If it was easier to obtain, I’d be drinking more raw milk and I wouldn’t hesitate to consume it for daily use.

  7. cathy Says:

    There may be another wastewater lawsuit against a Dean Food company filed by the State of CT in 2008 (see Dean Foods financial documents, I think Q10). ALso it appears a group called Cornicopia has complained about the organic aspects of Horizon/Dean Foods suppliers and/or the 2 farms company owned. A bit concerning I’m afraid. Your blog is very insightful. Thank you.

  8. Thea Tobias Says:

    WAP does exactly that–and also relies on claims from scientists who operated in an age when the sun was believed to revolve around the earth.
    good informattion

    nice blog

    Regards
    Thea

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