Tetra Pak, a global packaging supplier, today announced it plans to be involved in three new school feeding programmes, adding to the two already established this year in Vietnam and Pakistan.

Involvement in the school feeding effort makes business sense when put alongside Tetra Pak's environmental and other corporate responsibility programmes.

The company is attempting to position itself ahead of the competition as food and drink manufacturers face increasing consumer scrutiny over how ethically they run their operations.

Through public and private partnerships the company already contributes logistical and management support in school programmes providing milk to 43 million children, of which 17 million, or 40 per cent, live in developing countries.

The number of Tetra Pak packages destined for school milk programmes has been steadily increasing since the company launched a special unit in 2000, its Food for Development Office (FfDO).

FfDO helps coordinate Tetra Pak's involvement in school feeding programmes, explained Ulla Holm, the unit's global director.

Along with sister company DeLaval, the group offers itself as a partner that can cover the whole milk supply chain, from farm and dairy development schemes, to processing, packaging and logistics.

In practical terms, Tetra Pak says it can supply its dairy industry expertise, know-how in packaging, recycling and processing solutions as well as advice and practical support to school milk programmes.

The company's involvement in school feeding programmes includes those in Bangladesh, China, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the US and Vietnam.

The effort helps the development of a dairy sector in countries without such an infrastructure, and of milk drinking in communities that do not have such a tradition.

In the end, the effort helps Tetra Pak to open new markets for its packaging and equipment, Holm said in a presentation to journalists last month.

The company forecasts that the total number of Tetra Pak packages distributed to children through school feeding programmes will reach 5.3bn in 2007. About 43 million children worldwide receive milk or other nutritious drinks in school in Tetra Pak packaging, according to the company.

In the developed world the company provides the support to governments and non-government organizations involved in launching feeding schemes. The company's support may range from services offering leased equipment to dairy farmers, to discounts on packaging used in the programmes.

School feeding programmes are directly linked to a reduction in poverty and increased economic growth, Holm said.

Various studies show that children in receipt of milk show improved learning ability and school results. In developing countries, attendance has improved as school feeding programmes encourage families to send children to school.

School milk programmes also stimulate demand for locally produced milk and creates income for farmers and the local dairy industry, she said.

"Our work, in tandem with better government awareness of the importance of school milk, has seen educational performance increase and the development of new local dairy industries," said Holm.

For example, in Pakistan, the company is involved in a feeding programme in the district of Ghotki.

About 100,000 students are fed milk and biscuits in Tetra Pak packaging, five days a week, for 190 school days, in about 1,700 government primary schools. All the children are also de-wormed semi-annually. The milk packages are printed with nutrition, health and hygiene messages, she said.

During the first two years of the programme, primary school enrollment grew by 52 per cent from 2002-03 to 2004-05 while it grew by 24 per cent in Sindh province, which did not have school feeding, during same period.

In particular girls' primary enrollment grew by 98 per cent during the two years, compared to 29 per cent in Sindh province.

Children also grew faster, gaining an average of 6 cm compared to 5.1 cm in the control schools. The children also gained an average of 2.8kg in weight, compared to 1.9kg in control students.

In Nigeria the company works with a school feeding programme suppling a fortified cereal drink to 200,000 children. FfDO acted as a technical advisor to the scheme.

The FfDO is part of the company's demonstration of its commitment to global social and environmental issues, feeding into the group's corporate governance and code of business conduct, environmental policy, and agriculture and feeding partnerships, Holm said.

The FfDO is involved in helping provide training and equipment financing schemes to dairy farmers and processing plants. It is also involved in training and support for managers, and of the development of a logistics chain.

The school feeding programmes serve as a catalyst for agricultural development, promotes private sector investments in dairy processing, reduces imports and helps improve health, she said.

"It's a win-win situation for governments," Holm said.

World School Milk Day is an initiative of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. It was first held in 2000 and has since become an annual event to promote good child nutrition and dairy industry development.