Tetra Pak Develops New Milk Pouch
The $8-billion Tetra Pak has developed a "tetra fibre pillow system " under which milk packed in special pouches will have a shelf life of one month and require no boiling/heating before consumption.
According to the executive vice president of Tetra Pak, Harry Salonaho, the company's Indian subsidiary, Tetra Pak India Ltd (TPIL), is negotiating with several states to set up plants for the product.
Tetra Pak has packaging plants in 50 countries, two of them located in India near Pune.
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TPIL signed a Memorandum of Undertstanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh Dairy Development Cooperative Federation Ltd ( APDDCF) here on Saturday for a one-year trial run of the system for its milk distributed under the trade name"Vijaya".
Under the MoU, Tetra Pak will supply the sterilisation and packaging plants for the system and provide packaging material at a concessional rate.
APDDCF will pack its milk in the new system's packaging and market the same.It will be on trial for one year at the end of which APDDCF has the option to withdraw from the system.
On its part, Tetra Pak has agreed to expend substantial money on the promotion of the concept.
There will be no down payment by the APDDCF towards the cost of the plants. Payment will be on "per pack" basis and not lumpsum and will commence only after the one year trial period.
The packaging plant will have a capacity of 3,600 half litre packets per hour while the sterilisation plant will process 2,100 litres of milk per hour.
APDDCF hopes to put in the market, from June this year, around 60,000 half litre milk pouches packed under the new system.