Frequently Asked Questions

• We have ridiculously high standards. We don’t skimp when it comes to ingredients. Only the best will do.
• And, we are very picky about the methods we use to make our cottage cheese, milks, juices, yogurts and more.
• We are a family owned dairy (one of the few left in the U.S.).
• Third generation Erickson family members manage the day-to-day operations of the dairy plant.
• Our size (we’re considered small compared to the large cooperatives) allows us to respond more quickly to customer requests and trends.
• Like our founders in 1930, we are ridiculously passionate about our commitment to provide you and your family with the best in dairy products.
• We have ridiculously high standards. We know we already said that, but that’s just how high our standards are.

We don’t have any plans currently to offer organic milk. AE Dairy is a premium brand, and we offer delicious taste with the highest quality. Our milk is fresh from family farms in Iowa, and before the milk is accepted at AE, it is put to the test by our trained technicians. They check the odor, taste a sample, and conduct additional tests in the laboratory to make sure it’s pure. The testing continues in our state-of-the-art onsite laboratory with up to 25 tests in all right through the freshness date stamped on the carton. AE Milks do not contain pesticides, synthetic growth hormones or antibiotics. In fact if you looked at AE Milk and organic milk under the microscope, you wouldn’t see any differences.

The dairy herds that supply AE Milk are not treated with synthetic growth hormones also known as r-BST (recombinant bovine somatotropin) or r-BGH (recombinant growth hormone). We’ve been offering customers milk free from synthetic hormones for over four years, and in early 2008 we made this change for all AE Milks due to customers’ requests.

This information is not found on the carton labels due to pending legislation in several states.

*No significant difference has been shown between milk derived from r-bST/r-BGH treated and non-r-bST/r-BGH treated cows.

Ridiculously high standards also means being a little obsessive when it comes to quality. Iver Erickson once said, “There is no such thing as a perfect food.”, and we take this to heart. This means we are constantly checking the quality and consistency of the products we make at our weekly Taste Test. A team of people, including Erickson family members, management, production, and sales staff sample all AE products and judge the texture, taste, and aroma of each one. We also pay close attention to customer requests and the latest trends to come up with new creations.

Having ridiculously high standards means we are fanatics when it comes to freshness. So, it takes less than 24 hours for the raw milk to be changed into your favorite AE product and on the shelves of your neighborhood grocery store. This includes milk and cultured products such as cottage cheese, dips, sour cream, yogurt, and ice cream mix.

If a product has been stored at 36 degrees or under, it should remain good for another 7 days after the “sell by” date stamped on the container.

The date stamped on the carton is known as the “sell by” date which indicates how long the store has to sell the product.

The key is to keep your milk cold, and here are a few suggestions on how to do this.

• Refrigerate your milk as soon as possible after purchase. For every degree above 40 that milk is exposed (including your travel time from the grocery store to your home), it loses a day of freshness.
• As soon as you are finished serving or using the milk, return it to your refrigerator instead of leaving your milk on the breakfast or dinner table throughout the meal.
• Check that your refrigerator temperature is set between 34 and 36 degrees.
• Store your milk in the interior area of the refrigerator instead of in the door where the temperature fluctuates because of frequent opening.

We encourage our customers to let us know how we’re doing. You can send an email using our contact form, or call our customer care hot line at 515-265-2521 extension 2300.  If a product you purchased isn’t everything you hoped it would be, please contact us. We will arrange pick up of the item so that we can investigate it with the help of our lab, and we will replace the item.

We are taking steps to use the earth’s resources wisely, and some of the most noticeable include:

• fueling our fleet of 400 vehicles with a biodiesel blend,
• washing the fleet and our milk crates with recovered wash water,
• making new milk cases from reground plastic
• recycling plastic used in our gallon blow mold machine, and
• bundling cardboard packaging for recycling

Actually, our milk cases sometimes go missing when people borrow them, and they cost “moola” to replace. This expense affects the cost of milk. If you have “borrowed” an AE yellow milk case, or know of someone who has, we ask that you return it to AE or your local grocery store.

The following AE Dairy products are gluten free:

• Milk
• Flavored milk
• Orange juice
• Lemonade
• Yogurt
• Cottage Cheese
• Sour Cream
• Egg Nog (including MilkNog)
• Buttermilk
• Half & Half
• Whipping Cream

All AE Dips are NOT gluten free because the custom-blended spices are made in a facility where baked goods are prepared.
 

All AE products are made with the most natural ingredients, and we use fruit and vegetable extracts for color rather than add artificial numbered color dyes.

We’ve never used high fructose corn syrup to sweeten AE Chocolate Milks, and you won’t find this ingredient in AE Lowfat and Greek yogurts. The only exception is AE Regular Lemonade, and we offer a Reduced Sugar variety as another option for those who want to avoid high fructose corn syrup in their diet.

The amount of added sugar in AE Chocolate Milk is a small trade off for this powerful package of nutrition when you consider it provides 9 essential nutrients. Half of the sugar in chocolate milk is found naturally in all milk (12 grams per 8 oz. serving), and, the total amount of sugar is still 50% less than the amount contained in soft drinks or other sweetened beverages. In fact, chocolate milk contributes only 2% to the overall amount of all sugars in the diets of children ages 2-18.

The good news is that kids who drink flavored milk take in more milk and calcium without increasing their intake of total fat and calories. In addition, they do not have a higher body mass index compared to kids who do not drink flavored milk.
 

AE Dairy products are frequently featured in grocers’ sale flyers since we do not have a standard coupon program. We hope you’ll enjoy a free taste of AE whenever you see our products sampled at area grocery stores.

Many AE products are budget stretchers such as milk and yogurt when you consider that they provide essential nutrients including high quality protein along with calcium, vitamin D and potassium – three nutrients that frequently fall short in Americans’ diets today.
 

We regularly monitor the family farms in Iowa that supply our milk, and we’re confident that they treat the cows humanely adhering to the industry’s best practices. The cows are fed a mixture of grains such as oats, soy and corn which provides the ultimate in terms of health and nutrition. They also have the opportunity to graze and eat grass. This is impacted by weather conditions as the animals don’t produce well when subjected to extreme heat or cold. In addition, the herds are not treated with synthetic growth hormones.

We currently have two ice cream mix options that are available in area stores.  Sara Ann Vanilla Ice Cream Mix for Home Style Ice Cream Freezers is in a red and white half gallon, and Sara Ann Vanilla Soft Serve Mix is in an Orange half gallon carton.

The red carton is made specifically for home use and includes freezing instructions and recipe suggestions on the side panel of the carton.  The orange carton is made for use with commercial soft serve ice cream machines, but it can be adapted to home style ice cream freezers. It may just take a bit longer to get firm.

The directions are basically the same for both mixes, and the amount you use will depend on the size of your ice cream freezer. If you use 4 cups which is half the carton, then the yield should be about 48 oz. or 6 cups of ice cream, and if you use the entire carton at 8 cups, it will yield about 96 oz. or 12 cups. The suggested serving size is about 3.5 oz. which is equal to about ½ cup. Our experience with home freezers is to make flavor additions such as crumbled Oreos, peppermint candies, etc. during the last 5 minutes or so of freezing.