Sữa Ông Thọ

Longevity Brand (Vietnamese: ''Sữa Ông Thọ'', lit. translated as "Mr. Longevity's milk") is a brand of canned condensed milk, registered by FrieslandCampina and distributed by Sun Hing Foods, Inc. in the United States and Canada. It is a popular ingredient in Vietnamese iced coffee with milk (cà phê sữa đá) drinks, and in various other Vietnamese desserts.

History

Sữa Ông Thọ was mass-produced in the Saigon–Biên Hòa area and widely consumed in the Republic of Vietnam, produced by Friesland Foods (now FrieslandCampina) prior 1975. It was used in coffee, mixed with hot water to produce hot milk for babies and young children to drink (since fresh milk had to be imported and was thus expensive), and used for dipping French bread (bánh mì) and in other dessert applications.

Name

The name ''Ông Thọ'' is the Vietnamese reference to the personified astrology deity of Longevity ( Shou), representing long life, one of three astrology deities in the traditional Chinese Taoist concept of Fu Lu Shou (or ''Phước Lộc Thọ'' in Vietnamese). The other deities are Good Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu).

Nationalisation

After the 1975 Fall of Saigon, the factories manufacturing Sữa Ông Thọ, along with all other commercial and private properties, were collectivized by the communists, and the facilities came under the state company Vinamilk, who continued to produce Sữa Ông Thọ condensed milk under the same name used domestically and elsewhere in Indochina.

Friesland Foods continued production of Sữa Ông Thọ - Longevity Brand after 1975 in the U.S. and Canada for the North American market, especially catering to Overseas Vietnamese consumers, and increasingly to Western consumers as the popularity of Vietnamese coffee and cuisine in general, increases. In North America, Longevity Brand - Sữa Ông Thọ is widely available in Asian supermarkets, and increasingly in conventional supermarkets. Friesland sued Vinamilk for use of the brand in the US in 2002. West's federal supplement. 2003 Second series, Volume 228, Page 402 "Below the man in block letters are written the Vietnamese words "SUA ONG THO." The trademark registration asserts that the Chinese characters translate to "longevity sweetened condensed milk." See Knull Dec, Ex. B. Friesland contends that the Vietnamese word "Sua" means milk and "Ong Tho" means "longevity." Knull Dec, Ex. H at 18. Friesland also claims that the old man is an "extremely popular" Chinese god of Longevity who is ......" p413 "Friesland has not put forth evidence that would allow a reasonable trier of fact to conclude that the Longevity mark is "famous" under the FTDA. The Longevity mark is hardly a household name and even Friesland's own survey expert has" Sun Hing Foods, Inc., in Northern California, is the sole distributor for Longevity Brand in Canada and the United States.

Gallery

File:Tin of condensed milk.jpg, Appearance of typical condensed milk
File:viet-coffee.jpg, ''Cà phê sữa đá''

See also

* Vietnamese iced coffee
* Vietnamese cuisine
* Coffee
* Baked milk
* Evaporated milk
* Canned food
* Powdered milk
* Scalded milk

References

{{reflist

Milk
Dairy products companies of Vietnam
Canned food
Vietnamese cuisine
FrieslandCampina brands