[Chinese Packaging News] The liquid milk sold on the market can be divided into many types, whether it is from the packaging materials or from the preservation conditions. In fact, the packaging materials and preservation conditions are determined by the production process of liquid milk, and there are major categories such as ultra-high temperature sterilization, pasteurization, and fermentation.
The situation of dairy products in China is uneven distribution of milk sources, unbalanced consumption areas, and dairy products often require long-distance transportation. In the late 1980s, China introduced sterilized milk packaging. Sterile milk packaging is suitable for the transportation of dairy products. It needs to be sterilized. The packaged dairy products are required to be filled in a sterile environment, which greatly extends the shelf life of dairy products. The shelf life of sterilized milk is more than one month. One and a half months or even six months. Since the 1980s, the rapid development of China's sterilized milk has enabled the milk produced in the north to be transported to the south through long-distance transport, allowing the south without large amounts of milk to drink milk.
Sterilized milk packaging mainly uses three types of packaging: black and white film bags, pillow bags, Tetra Pak. The shelf life of black and white film bag sterilized milk is 1 month (30 days), and the pillow bag is made of paper-plastic aluminum composite material. Its shelf life is 45 days. The two types of packaging materials are cheaper and the shelf life is longer. The consumption level suitable for small towns and rural consumers is in line with the economic laws. While Tetra Pak is a multi-layer composite material, the shelf life of Tetra Pak's sterilized milk is more than six months. It is easy to carry and can be adapted to long-distance transportation. However, its packaging price is relatively high, and it is generally adapted to the consumption level of big cities.
Sterile milk packaging has played a major role in promoting the development of liquid milk in China. It enables milk in northern China to be transported to the south for consumption, so that the milk produced in the city can be transported to rural areas for consumption, and milk can be consumed in areas without milk. In China, 70% of the milk is in the north of the Yellow River. If there is no sterilized milk, most of the areas south of the Yellow River can only eat milk powder. Due to the promotion of packaging of sterilized milk, the annual output of liquid milk in China has reached 23 million tons. Currently, three-quarters of the liquid milk market is sterilized milk and one quarter is pasteurized milk.