Health

• among the most important nutrient components easily assimilated by the human organism are those found in milk, which include:

  - protein – of a very high nutritional value

  - calcium – of a high degree of assimilability

  - riboflavin – participates in the processes of oxidation and reduction

  - vitamins A and D – of significant importance for growth and development of the organism

  - CLA – prevents tumours and atherosclerosis

  - potassium, phosphorus, magnesium – mineral components
• the daily calcium requirement for adults (800mg) may be obtained from: 3 glasses of milk, 17 portions of cottage cheese (0.8 kg), 5 portions of rennet cheese (100g)
• the daily vitamin B2 requirement for adults (1.6- 2.4 mg) may be obtained from: 3.5 glasses of milk, 7 portions of cottage cheese (0.3 kg), 19 portions of rennet cheese (0.4 kg)
• milk and its products have enormous significance in the prophylactic treatment of osteoporosis (increased bone fracture susceptibility). Among the nutrition factors of osteoporosis is insufficient consumption of calcium and vitamin D throughout human life
• at the age of 30 the bone mineralisation process is completed, and the calcium collected in the bones serves as a lifelong reserve, the natural loss of the element, slowly at first is at about 1% annually, then later in ever greater quantities
• fermented dairy products eliminate many toxin-creating microorganisms from the digestive tract and have a beneficial effect on human health.

From the history of dairying

• the ancestor of domestic cattle was the auroch, domesticated about 6.5 thousand years B.C. (the last auroch was killed in Poland in 1627
• dairy products (butter, cheeses, fermented drinks) were produced as early as in the Stone Age (the Neolithic period) – about 6 thousand years B.C.
• 2 thousand years B.C. - the consumption of milk and its products (and hard cheese since the 15th century) became commonplace in the Polish lands
• the first “milking device” was invented in Egypt 380 B.C. – wheat stems placed in cows’ teats
• in the 15th century production of “oscypek” smoked cheese began in Podhale
• in Poland the production of homogenised cheese and matured hard cheese began in 1971 and 1991 respectively
• the first Polish Cooperative dairy was established in 1882, in Pawłówko near Buk
• milk packed in cartons was first sold in 1906 in the USA
• 1907 - the sale of yogurt was introduced in Germany
• in 1914 - aluminium caps were introduced for milk bottles in Sweden
• production of milk powder began in Poland in 1935
• 1940 - a continuous butter production method was developed in Germany
• 1949 - “milk bars” were opened in towns

From the history of the Gostyń Dairy Cooperative

• the dairy was registered in July 1889
• the first founder members of the Cooperative (10) supplied 2500-3000 litres of milk daily
• in 1919 the dairy was named the “Dairy Cooperative in Gostyń”
• in 1929 the cooperative was visited by Ignacy Mościcki, President of the II Republic of Poland
• the cooperative was nationalised in 1951, and in 1957 regained the status of a Cooperative
• Gostyń butter obtained the “1” quality mark in 1963
• the first authorisation in Poland for the reclassification from “no. 1” for the “Q” butter mark and authorisation for export was received by the Dairy Cooperative in 1967
• since 1952 Gostyń butter has been exported to Great Britain and the Vatican
• Condensing and Powdering of milk inaugurated in 1979
• cream and UHT milk production commenced in 1996
• ceremonial award of ISO quality certificate took place in 1998

Curiosities

• annually the Cooperative processes sufficient milk to fill a pool of 3m depth, 20m width and with a length of … 2.5 km
• the first badge of the firm was the so-called lady of Biskupin - the figure of a woman in regional dress
• in 2004 the 500 millionth carton of Concentrated milk was produced
• has Queen Elizabeth II eaten Gostyń butter? Yes! – it was supplied to the British court in the 1950’s
• which Pope ate Gostyń butter? … John XXIII
• have Gostyń products been eaten by the President of the Republic of Poland? …Yes - the President of the II RP Ignacy Mościcki and the President of the III RP Aleksander Kwaśniewski
• in 1989 the Cooperative produced approximately 2 mln “little cow” fudge sweets
• in 1936-1937 Gostyń butter was supplied to Lisbon, London, Paris, Vienna, Bern, Brussels, Prague and Milan
• have Chinese representatives visited the Cooperative? ...Yes - in 1937 the government representative Chang-Fu-Lieng visited the Cooperative
• what does the Cooperative have in common with submarines? … At the beginning of the 1980s unsweetened and sweetened condensed milk in tins was supplied to Units of the Submarine Fleet
• how many persons have managed the firm from 1889 to the present day? …8