Tetra Pak launches campaign on benefits of long life milk

Food packaging firm, Tetra Pak has launched a campaign to educate the public on the benefits and safety of long life milk in its packages.

The campaign supports efforts by the Kenya Dairy Board to educate Kenyans on safe milk.

Mombasa is among first counties to benefit from the campaign.

Governor Hassan Joho’s administration introduced provision of free school milk to all learners in all public schools in 2015 in a bid to retain and improve their nutritional levels.

RETENTION OF LEARNERS

His administration has seen retention of learners and enticement of more pupils to join public schools.

The county used to record an enrolment of 26,700 but currently 32,900 learners are enrolled in the public ECDE centres following the free milk project.

The county uses Sh120 million every financial year to fund the milk programme where PP1 to Grade 3 pupils in all the 97 public primary schools in Mombasa receive a 200ml packet of milk every school day..

“We want all our learners to get nutritional value form milk. This helps in their growth and concentration in class,” said the county’s Chief Officer for Education Innocent Mugabe.

SAFE MILK

The county is currently engaging Tetra Pak on the safe milk programme.

“After drinking the milk you must ensure you dispose the pack in a dustbin. Do not litter your schools, home or the environment,” Mr Mugabe told the learners at Utange ECDE centre.

He urged the pupils to conserve the environment.

Tetra Pak Communications Officer Stella Ondimu lauded the milk programme saying it is beneficial to the learners.

Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi said the county is exploring the modalities of working with Tetra Pak to sensitise school children on waste segregation and collection.

PILOT SCHOOL

“With the aid of Tetra Pak, we hope to roll out a sensitisation programme in November with Utange being the pilot school. The used milk cartons once collected will then be recycled into other learning aids such as eco-boards and desks,” Dr Kingi said.

Long life milk market share in Kenya is estimated to be more than 50 percent and has been growing steadily over the last three years.

The growth is attributed to affordability, convenience and availability of long life milk in Tetra Pak packages.

Long life milk does not require to be refrigerated and can stay fresh for a period of up to six months.

SHELF LIFE

The extended shelf life for the milk is attributed to a process called ultra-heat treatment (UHT) and aseptic packaging.

A research carried out by Ipsos Synovate early this year dubbed ‘Understanding Milk Consumption in Kenya’ indicated that there is a misconception on the shelf life of long life milk.

The research commissioned by Tetra Pak East Africa concluded that there is a gap in information on what keeps the milk fresh for longer than chilled milk.

SAVE ON COST

Tetra Pak packages long life milk in different formats. The milk can be found in most retail outlets.

“Tetra Pak was founded on the idea that a package should save more than it costs. Currently, the circular economy is driven by legislation addressing recycling, litter and recycled content. In order to fully address the growing climate impact of resources and materials, Tetra Pak believes there needs to be a joint thinking between circular economy principles and climate change,” said Ms Ondimu.

The company’s packages will be made solely from plant-based or recycled packaging materials which do not compromise on food safety requirements.