Background
In September 2011, FSANZ undertook a small program to estimate the weight of a 'dash' or 'splash' of milk typically added to tea, or to coffee prepared from instant coffee powder. The results were used to assign a gram amount to dashes and splashes of milk reported as added to tea or coffee during the 2011-13 Australian Health Survey (AHS).
Sampling and preparation
Volunteers from FSANZ were asked to prepare themselves a tea or coffee after first weighing their empty cup. The cup was then re-weighed to determine the volume of tea or coffee without added milk. Participants were then asked to add their 'usual' quantity of milk to their beverage, and record whether they considered this amount to be a dash, a splash or something else. The entire cup with tea or coffee and added milk was then weighed a final time to allow the gram weight and the proportion of milk in the beverage to be determined.
Results
A total of 45 suitable weights for a dash or splash of milk added to tea or coffee were recorded. There was substantial variation in the amount of milk added to tea and coffee ranging from 5-79 g, with an average of 31 g. The range of values and averages were similar whether people called the addition a 'dash' or a 'splash'.
The volume of the tea or coffee did not have an effect on the quantity of milk added, with the proportion of milk ranging from 2% in a 227 g beverage to 47% in 169 g beverage.
The quantity of milk did not differ whether it was added to tea or coffee. Average measures for both 'dash' and 'splash' in tea or coffee were within 4 g of each other.
The complete set of results generated from this program is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Amount of milk added to tea or coffee as a dash or splash
| Number | Reported as dash or splash | Weight of tea or coffee only (g) | Weight of milk (g) | % of milk in beverage |
| 1 | dash | 90 | 79 | 47 |
| 2 | dash | 162 | 31 | 16 |
| 3 | dash | 165 | 47 | 22 |
| 4 | dash | 170 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | splash | 170 | 16 | 9 |
| 6 | dash | 173 | 48 | 22 |
| 7 | dash | 181 | 27 | 13 |
| 8 | dash | 182 | 23 | 11 |
| 9 | dash | 185 | 9 | 5 |
| 10 | splash | 185 | 32 | 15 |
| 11 | dash | 189 | 20 | 10 |
| 12 | dash | 191 | 20 | 9 |
| 13 | dash | 191 | 27 | 12 |
| 14 | dash | 195 | 21 | 10 |
| 15 | dash | 199 | 22 | 10 |
| 16 | dash | 200 | 9 | 4 |
| 17 | dash | 202 | 19 | 9 |
| 18 | splash | 202 | 58 | 22 |
| 19 | dash | 209 | 11 | 5 |
| 20 | dash | 210 | 9 | 4 |
| 21 | splash | 211 | 51 | 19 |
| 22 | splash | 215 | 15 | 7 |
| 23 | dash | 221 | 13 | 6 |
| 24 | dash | 221 | 38 | 15 |
| 25 | dash | 222 | 9 | 4 |
| 26 | splash | 222 | 5 | 2 |
| 27 | dash | 226 | 27 | 11 |
| 28 | splash | 227 | 27 | 11 |
| 29 | splash | 227 | 35 | 13 |
| 30 | dash | 228 | 16 | 7 |
| 31 | dash | 229 | 18 | 7 |
| 32 | dash | 231 | 9 | 4 |
| 33 | splash | 233 | 38 | 14 |
| 34 | splash | 234 | 48 | 17 |
| 35 | dash | 239 | 19 | 7 |
| 36 | dash | 240 | 71 | 23 |
| 37 | splash | 242 | 43 | 15 |
| 38 | splash | 242 | 50 | 17 |
| 39 | splash | 243 | 54 | 18 |
| 40 | dash | 246 | 54 | 18 |
| 41 | dash | 258 | 19 | 7 |
| 42 | splash | 261 | 51 | 16 |
| 43 | dash | 266 | 28 | 10 |
| 44 | dash | 272 | 18 | 6 |
| 45 | dash | 280 | 17 | 6 |
| Average (range): | ||||
| dash | 209 (90-280) | 25 (5-79) | 11 (3-47) | |
| splash | 222 (170-261) | 37 (5-58) | 14 (2-22) | |
| dash & splash | 213 (90-280) | 31 (5-79) | 12 (2-47) |
Updates to the food measures database
Given the small differences observed, it was concluded that a dash and splash could be assumed to be the same for the purpose of the AHS. The final volume for dash and splash was considered to be 30 mL.
The 30 mL volume was then multiplied by the density of each milk type, to calculate a gram weight for each of the milk or milk-replacement products reported as dash or splash during the AHS. These include:
- all liquid cow's milk (including condensed and evaporated)
- coconut milk
- soy beverage
- goat milk
- oat milk
- rice milk
Conclusion
The results of the dash and splash measures program have given FSANZ an improved level of confidence about the quality of the dash and splash measures for milk added to tea or coffee reported during the AHS.