26 Plastics in Packaging © 2018 Sayers Publishing Group • October

DAIRY PACKAGING

L ong gone are the days where the onlymilk packaging on the table was eitherglass bottles or cartons. With strong con-

sumer interest and iterative ‘test and learn’approaches, packaging producers and equipmentproviders are coming up with interesting alter-natives, as showcased at the Drinktec, Anugaand Ipack-Ima shows in recent months.

The global milk packaging market isexpected to grow at average of 4.3 per centin the eight years from 2018 to 2026.Among the key factors driving its growthis rising demand for packaged milk resultingfrom modern lifestyles, and the speedy risein the global population coupled withincreasing purchasing power, especially indeveloping economies such as India, SouthKorea, China and other ASEAN markets.

Bottled and flavoured milk is fuelling theoverall growth of the market with a significantincrease in demand for cartons and rigid pack-aging, especially for flavoured milk. Due to theincrease of small households, consumer needfor single-serve milk packs is also a key factor.

The global milk packaging market is wit-nessing a steady growth owing to an increasingnumber of new market entrants coupled withthe rapid growth of the paperboard packagingindustry. The milk packaging sector is activelyseeking packaging that is more efficient andsustainable.

Packaging milk is trickyAdvancements in processing technology, pack-aging materials and methods, have enabled theextended of food shelf-life from hours to weeks,and even months.

Milk was first packaged with the introductionof sterilised milk processing, in which the glassbottle formed an integral part. As the retail

package for milk, the glass bottle was useduntil the 1930s when waxed paper cartonswere introduced. The development andintroduction of plastics materials, bothalone and in combination with paper, resultedin a wide range of containers suitable for

dairy product packaging. The shelf-life of bottled fluid milk reached

an average of 10-21 days when stored at 4 and8 deg C depending on raw milk quality,processing conditions, microbial growth, pack-aging materials, exposure to light and temper-ature variation.

The dairy industry now achieves a 45-dayshelf life through the use of ultra-pasteurisation(UP) processes, while ultra-high temperature(UHT) processed products achieve a shelf-life ofthree months to a year with no refrigeration.

As there are different ways to skin a cat…In around 2008, milk packaging using a range ofpolymers was launched on the market. Somewere polyethylene (PE) monolayer materials

Spoiler alert!Milk and dairy products continue

to explore bold new avenues when it comes to packaging in the quest for extended shelf-life

and sustainability. Dominique Huret reports

Chinese dairy manufacturer Mengniu moved into the Tetra Prisma Aseptic 250 Edge with Dream-Cap earlier this year. Below: Krones’ reclosable PETbottle and Elopak’s renewable PE cartons were early

challengers in the traditional dairy sector

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Plastics in Packaging © 2018 Sayers Publishing Group • October 27

pigmented with white titanium dioxide, whichlater became HDPE bottles first offered byAmcor. White on the outside and dark inside,they were revolutionary at the time.

In 2016, Amcor presented its crystal-clearPET stock bottles and preforms for milk anddairy products, but with a short shelf-life.Available ranges came in three shapes, fourbottle capacities, three bottle finishes and threefilling types. The bottle shapes were designedfor shelf-appeal to differentiate brands and tech-nologies. This bottle was immediately a hugehit, with most of the leading brand ownersopting for it.

In the same year Tetra Pak launched theTetra Evero Aseptic package, the world’s firstaseptic carton bottle for ambient milk. Itcombined the environmental benefits of cartonpackaging – using fibre from renewable sources– with the ease of handling and pouring that abottle provides. It is available for ambient milk,as well as dairy alternatives. Whether thisremains an optimum option today, where multi-material packaging is in decline, remains to beseen.

Since there is no time like the presentToday,new developments come also from variousplayers outside the polymer industry. Germanequipment provider Krones, and in particularits Packaging Development and ConsultingGroup (Krones Plastics Technology), is developingnew container concepts. In September 2017,the PET&Paper bottle was on show and widelyapproved of at the Drinktec show. Three chal-lenges had to be tackled: Photosensitivity ofmilk; increased shelf-life; and the ever-increasingrequirement for easy recycling. Indeed, in the

existing package the liquid-proof part (a plastics)is almost impossible to separate from the light-proof part (cardboard or opaque colouration).

Krones started with the idea of a reclosablePET bottle that provides protection againstlight and at the same time is simple to re-use. Itwas based on yoghurt tubs, which are alreadyavailable featuring a similar principle.

“The goal was straightforward,” said PeterMoertl, Krones’ press contact at Anuga. “Itshould be possible to separate the transparent,bottle-to-bottle-recyclable part from the lightprotecting component made of cardboard, whichis also amenable to recovery, without the needfor elaborate and costly processes – as is thecase with yoghurt tubs, where a similar principlehas already been incorporated. In addition, thispackaging should be visually assignable to themilk category.”

This idea was developed to maturity togetherwith Krones Labelling Technology and Töpfer, amanufacturer of carton labels. For fast integrationinto the existing market, a Krones Canmatic isused for labelling.

On the converter side, Elopak launched bev-erage cartons featuring certified renewable PEback in 2014. This year at the Ipack-Ima show,Elopak claimed to be the first manufacturer todeliver more than one billion 100 per centrenewable cartons with its Pure-Pak range.The fresh milk carton is 85-90 per cent made offibre.

These come from a 100 per cent renewablesource, either from sugar cane or based on tolloil, a residue from pulp and paper productionsourced from Nordic forests.

Andrea Paoli, Elopak’s technical and salesmanager, explained: “Elopak’s packaging carton

is based entirely on wood. The wood is 100 percent sourced from responsibly managed forestsand other controlled sources, in accordancewith the FSC certification system. The cartonin ‘natural colour’ conveys a clear environmen-tal-friendly message with its carton look. Thepackage can come with a bleached version aswell.”

This year, Prairie Farms Dairy, one of thelargest dairy cooperatives in the American Mid-west, selected Nature Pure-Pak for its flavouredmilks, and Arla Foods, the largest producer ofdairy products in Scandinavia, launched a newlook for its organic EKO brand of milk, fermentedand cream, said Marina Bortoletto, Elopak’smarketing director.

There is much more to come on the environ-mental front. Talking at the recent Anuga fair,Tetra Pak’s Recart chief executive Anders Lind-gren, said: “Tetra Pak paper straws will beready at the end of this year. For the otherdevelopments in material itself, one will have towait for Interpack in 2020.”

More information from:

Amcor amcor.com

Elopak elopak.com

Krones krones.com

Tetra Pak tetrapak.com

Anders Lindgren, managing director of Tetra Pak Recart AB. Above right: The Elopak team at Ipack-Ima 2018

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