| FROM
CUBA
Powdered milk to substitute for fresh SANTA CLARA,
Cuba, February 17 (José Moreno Cruz, Cubanacán Press / www.cubanet.org)
- Officials of the La Villareña Milk Products Enterprise have announced
that starting February 16, the company will start distributing powdered milk instead
of fresh in most Villa Clara province municipalities. The pouch of fresh
milk that has been available for sale under the government rationing system to
children up to age 7, will no longer be available. Instead, eligible consumers
will be allowed to buy three kilograms (about six and a half pounds) of powdered
milk. Only in Santa Clara, Sagua la Grande, and Placetas municipalities will fresh
milk continue to be distributed, said Mario Castillo, director of the Milk Products
Enterprise. The announcement was tied to lowered milk production caused
by drought, which has reduced available feed and drinking water for cattle. During
previous instances in which powdered milk has substituted for fresh, consumers
have uniformly rejected the new product, citing poor taste and the fact that the
allotted amount is not enough for the month, anyway. Versión
original en español | 
