This column was originally published in the Central Western Daily on Tuesday 17th July 2012.
Am I the only person in Australia who had never heard the word “permeate” until this past week? I popped into my local corner store the other day to pick up some milk. This particular brand of moo juice I chose was covered in labels announcing that it was now permeate free. I had no idea what this meant but took the time to tell the lady behind the counter how pleased I was to no longer be charged extra for permeate.
After a moment of disbelief, she did correct me. Apparently permeate is an additive that is used to dilute milk. I no longer drink milk, but when I was growing up, the only additive for me was milo, and lots of it. Nowadays, there seems to be so many different permutations of milk products that I wouldn’t be surprised in the existence of additives.
I did try milk straight from the cow on a Rural Youth excursion to Gloucester in Year 7 and I’m certain that absolutely nothing on the shelf tastes like that. Just for the record, I did use a cup to drink the milk.
The marketing advantage for that particular brand of milk didn’t last longer than a week or so because on a visit to the supermarket today, I noticed that almost every brand now has a sticker declaring the product permeate free.
Of course, a label stating that a product doesn’t contain something is not necessarily proof that it was ever there in the first place. So in the interests of marketing, I’d like to proudly announce that this blog is now sulphide free.
Peter Young Writes For You 
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