A year after a decision to let Mac’s sell three-litre milk jugs spilled over into an industry-wide controversy, the commission that regulates milk sizes has made it legal for anyone to sell milk in three-litre packages.

That’s a relief for Christina Lewis from the Ontario Dairy Council, who appealed the initial decision to let the chain of convenience stores exclusively try out a container size.

“If you’re going to make a decision, it should be available for everyone to try,” she said.

Lewis’s group represents Ontario’s dairy processors, including milk brands such as Beatrice, Lactantia and Organic Meadow.

The Dairy Council didn’t want Mac’s to have a head start on producing three-litre packaging, arguing it might create an unfair advantage. The appeal, which was scheduled to be heard next week, delayed the decision for Mac’s to try its three-litre scheme.

Geri Kamenz, chair of the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission, which made the regulatory change, said the delays were frustrating for everyone, and there were far more benefits than risks in legalizing three-litre containers.

“We said enough with process — it’s available now as an option,” said Kamenz.

The change made last month amends a regulation in the Milk Act, which adds three litres as an officially approved size, joining the ranks of one-, 1.5-, two- and four-litre containers.

Kamenz said this change came after a consultation with stakeholders and the public about removing any container restrictions, but after that proposal proved to be unpopular, the commission decided to deal with only the three-litre matter.

Al Mussell, a dairy economist, said the introduction of the new size comes as consumer preferences shift, but notes that regulations exist for consumer protection. The volumes in which milk can be sold were made uniform so people could compare prices across brands at the grocery store.

But Mussell added that the new size puts dairy farmers in a tough spot because it’s uncertain what the impact will be. Consumers may choose to switch from four-litre bags to three-litre containers.

“The net effect might be that the farmers might end up selling less milk,” said Mussell, who is currently research lead at Agri-Food Economic Systems in Guelph.

The group that represents dairy farmers in Ontario says it’s not opposed to three-litre containers.

“Our concern was people thought we were opposed to this — we’re not opposed to it at all if it grows the market,” said Graham Lloyd of Dairy Farmers of Ontario.

That’s why the group supported the 12-month trial period Mac’s proposed. Lloyd said it was a way to see how the new option might affect sales.

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He notes that the introduction of three-litre containers could go either way — people can choose to downgrade from four litres or upgradde from the two-litre size.