Brazil-based agribusiness Agrindus has increased the shelf life of grade A pasteurised fresh whole milk from seven days to 15 days.
The feat was achieved by incorporating silver-based microparticles with bactericidal, antimicrobial and self-sterilizing properties into the rigid plastic bottles used as packaging for the milk. The technology was developed by Nanox, who, like Agrindus, are located in São Carlos, São Paulo state.
Nanox CEO Luiz Pagotto Simões said: “We already knew use of our antimicrobial and bactericidal material in rigid or flexible plastic food packaging improves conservation and extends shelf life. So we decided to test it in the polyethylene used to bottle grade A fresh milk in Brazil. The result was that we more than doubled the product’s shelf life solely by adding the material to the packaging, without mixing any additives with the milk.”
According to Simões, the microparticles are included as a powder in the polyethylene preform that is used to make plastic bottles by blow or injection molding. The microparticles are inert, so there is no risk of them detaching from the packaging and coming into contact with the milk.
Tests of the material’s effectiveness in extending the shelf life of fresh milk were performed for a year by Agrindus, Nanox and independent laboratories. “Only after shelf life extension had been certified did we decide to bring the material to market,” Simões said.
In addition to Agrindus, the material is also being tested by two other dairies that distribute fresh milk in plastic bottles in São Paulo and Minas Gerais and by dairies in the Brazilian southern region that sell fresh milk in flexible plastic packaging.
“Doubling the shelf life of whole milk translates into significant benefits in terms of logistics, storage, quality and food safety,” Simões concluded.
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