At PreScouter, we help Fortune 500 clients quickly get up-to-speed on what they need to know to understand their options. PreScouter's Inquiry Service is a new, custom approach to ask tailored, science-based questions with a Ph.D. researcher through a brief video call. The results are debriefed in a meeting within two business days. This app provides clients with technically relevant, actionable information to further business objectives on a recurring basis. In this inquiry, a client in the dairy industry asked for dairy industry packaging that can be used to extend shelf life. One of PreScouter's Food and Beverage Project Architects worked with another researcher to present the key findings which included current packaging like clean fill and sealing as well as modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Different packaging was segmented into different types of dairy products such as fluid milk and yogurt as well as butter, cheese, and milk powder. PreScouter concluded this inquiry with suggested next steps.

1. PRESCOUTER
Dairy Industry Packaging that can
be used to Extend Shelf Life.
Date: March 21 2017
15:24 CDT
Rachel Murkett, PhD
Project Architect
PreScouter, Inc.
Yuhong Mao
Research Scholar
Technische Universitat Munchen
Your personal research team

2. Inquiry
“Dairy Industry Packaging that can be used to Extend Shelf Life.”
The goal is to:
1. Answer: What types of packaging can be used to extend shelf-life in the dairy industry?
2. Identify packaging technologies that are already used in dairy products and comment on current
shelf-life.
3. Identify novel or innovative technologies that could be used to extend this shelf-life.

3. Key Findings
Various packaging processes and technologies exist to extend the shelf-life of dairy
products, such as clean fill and sealing, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP),
microfiltration and materials with improved barrier properties to oxygen and light.
Milk is processed into a variety of products, namely fluid milk, fermented products, butter, cheese and milk
powder. Different dairy products have their own properties, and thus different packaging requirements.
Generally, the packaging systems of most dairy products face some common problems, such as water
vapor permeability, odor permeability, oxidation and light.
The shelf life of each product is affected by its own most critical factors. Oxygen plays an important role in
the light-induced development of off-flavors in milk. Light-induced oxidation of butter may occur when it is
inadequately protected under illumination. The two key parameters contributing to the stability of
cheeses are pH and water activity (aw). Two other key environmental factors that must be considered in
the packaging of cheese (and indeed in the packaging of all dairy products) are light and O2.
On the next slides, these products are discussed in turn.

4. Fluid Milk and Yogurt
Fluid milk is widely packaged in the paperboard/alufoil/plastic laminate carton and the plastic container.
Protection against light passing through the container wall is an important task of its packaging. This can
be achieved by the material itself or the pigment, such as TiO2, either incorporated into the material or
used in printing it. A shelf life of at least 8–10 days at 6°C–8°C is typical for pasteurized milk, while at 5°C,
this can be increased to 18–20 days by processing using an ultraclean packaging system. In order to
further increase the shelf life of pasteurized milk, processes such as bactofugation and microfiltration
have been introduced in the dairy industry. Ultrapasteurization (above 138°C for at least 2 s) plus
packaging under extreme hygienic conditions can make ESL (extended shelf life) milk stored at 4 oC with a
shelf life of up to 90 days. The shelf life of UHT milk processed with aseptic packaging systems can be up
to 9 months or even 1 year.
The most popular packaging materials used for fermented products, such as yogurt, are thermoformed
HIPS (high-impact polystyrene) in the form of small cups or larger tubs, with either an aluminum foil/plastic
laminate or a paper/plastic laminate heat seal lid or closure. Laminated materials are desirable if a long
shelf life is needed, which can provide a low water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), a good O2 barrier to
protect the product from oxidation, and a good light barrier helping to delay fading of light sensitive colors
and avoid light-induced oxidation.

5. Butter, Cheese and Milk powder
Retail packaging of butter is commonly in laminated aluminum foil. Other types of packaging for butter
include plastic tubs thermoformed from white-pigmented HIPS or PVC with a tight-fitting lid of the same
material.
The resealable technologies for cheese has solved the problem of mold growth once the package has
been opened. Mineral waxes present a higher barrier to O2 than acetoglyceride-based waxes, which are
also used for cheese. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) has been suggested to extend the shelf life
of cheese. CO2 and N2 (30:70) best preserved portioned Provolone cheese by slowing down the proteolytic
and lipolytic phenomena typical of cheese ripening. This packaging system extended the shelf life to more
than 9 months at 8°C, an increase of 50% compared with that obtained under vacuum packaging.
Aluminum foil-plastic laminates have been introduced to milk powder packaging. The laminates can be
formed, filled, gas flushed and sealed on a single machine from reel stock. Gas Packing, like N2 flushing
greatly enhances the storage stability of milk powder, and packaging headspace O2 levels should be as
low as possible to prevent lipid oxidation and off-flavors.

6. Suggested Next Steps
In the modern packaging industry, active packaging is a developing alternative.
Active packaging is defined as “packaging in which subsidiary constituents have been deliberately
included in or on either the packaging material or the package headspace to enhance the performance
of the package system”.
Since oxygen is a serious problem for dairy products, including oxygen scavengers in the packaging, such
as cellulose triacetate, acetylated paper, citric acid, ferrous salt/ascorbate and activated
carbon/clays/zeolites, sounds very attractive. Carbon dioxide emitters can be used for better MAP
storage, moisture absorbers is also useful for some dairy products, such as milk powder. Antibacterial
packagings, namely nisin-containing active packaging, essential oil containing active packaging,
Chitosan-containing active packaging, etc., are also expected to be further developed in next decades.
For different dairy products, it is valuable to evaluate packaging solutions against specific problems to
the product, which are the critical factors affecting the shelf life.

7. References
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/active-and-intelligent-packaging-substances
https://www.crcpress.com/Food-Packaging-Principles-and-Practice-Third-Edition/Robertson/p/book/9781439862414

8. PreScouter’s Inquiry Service
PreScouter helps Fortune 500 clients quickly get up-to-speed on what they need
to know to understand their options. PreScouter's Inquiry Service is a new, custom
approach to ask science-based questions with a Ph.D. researcher through a brief
video call. The results are debriefed in a meeting within two business days. This
app provides clients with technically relevant, actionable information to further
business objectives on a recurring basis.
For more information about R&D research and this inquiry service, please email
inquiry@prescouter.com and visit www.PreScouter.com.