Protecting Milk From Light

Published: August 01, 2010

OSLO, NORWAY | Packaging supplier Elopak reports on a study conducted by its Technology Centre regarding light protection benefits for milk.

According to Elopak's manager for sensory services, Liv Bente Strandos, “…Most retail outlets store milk in lighted cabinets and unless a barrier is used, the products are exposed to sufficient light to cause quality changes.”

The study compared Elopak's classic carton with bleached board and its carton with duplex clay-coated unbleached board and then compared both with plastic bottles (PET and HDPE).

Elopak says the milk in plastic bottles developed a strong light-induced off-taste after one day, compared to the milk in cartons, which developed a just-perceptible light-induced off-taste between days two and nine.

The study also notes that there was a significant difference in levels of off-taste between the two Elopak cartons, with no light-induced off-taste detected at all in the duplex clay-coated board.

Elopak also says the milk stored in plastic bottles lost 50% more vitamin A and vitamin B2 when exposed to light compared to cartons. There was no difference in vitamin loss between the two cartons tested.

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