PRNewswire

Singapore, September 30: Access to safe, nutritious food is important across diverse distribution settings. Drawing on its experience in school feeding and nutrition programmes for over 60 years, this World School Milk Day, Tetra Pak shares how UHT processing, aseptic packaging and food-safety practices help make safe milk more accessible.

Tetra Pak has supported school feeding programmes since 1962, beginning in Mexico, where its pioneering UHT technological expertise helped make safe milk available without refrigeration. Since then, Tetra Pak has worked with customers and collaborated with governments, NGOs and UN agencies on school feeding programmes worldwide, supporting their practical implementation and evaluation and advising on food safety and quality controls in schools.

This experience continues to grow. In 2025, 68 million children in 52 countries received milk or other nutritious beverages in Tetra Pak packages during the school year.[1] This scale reflects Tetra Pak's practical, on-the-ground experience in supporting stakeholders with the food safety, quality controls, packaging and distribution considerations involved in delivering milk to children in diverse settings.

Within this broader context, UHT milk continues to be a relevant format for reaching communities across varied distribution conditions. UHT milk can be distributed and stored before opening without refrigeration, in line with the product's validated specification and storage instructions. This makes it a practical option for programmes and communities where maintaining a consistent cold chain may not always be possible. UHT milk is one part of a diverse dairy ecosystem, complementing, rather than replacing, other milk formats available to consumers.

'Making safe, high-quality UHT milk available at scale depends on more than the technology itself,' said Edward Enrico Kasim, Services Director, Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia (MSPI). 'It requires an integrated system, from hygienic design and validated processing to aseptic filling, quality controls and skilled operations, all working together to help protect the intended quality and safety of the product, wherever it needs to reach.'

The technology behind UHT milk is straightforward in principle, but exacting in practice. UHT processing applies high temperatures for a short period of time, under controlled and validated conditions, to help achieve commercial sterility. The product is then filled into sterilised packaging within an aseptic environment. Together, these two steps keep the milk safe for consumption until the package is opened, provided it remains intact and is stored and handled according to the product's instructions.

'Delivering safe, high-quality UHT milk requires every part of the system to work together. From careful management of raw materials and hygienic equipment design to validated processing, robust quality controls, aseptic filling, packaging integrity and appropriate distribution, each stage plays a distinct role. Correct handling after opening is equally important. Consistency across the entire value chain is what helps protect the product's intended quality and safety, from farm to final consumption,' said Enrico.

As a long-term food processing, packaging and services partner, Tetra Pak is committed to sharing its expertise and collaborating across the value chain with customers, governments, NGOs and UN agencies. Together, we can help make safe food available across diverse markets and distribution conditions. 'This reflects our purpose to make food safe and available, everywhere, while protecting what's good: food, people and the planet,' Enrico concluded.

For more information about Tetra Pak School Feeding Program, visit the page: School Feeding Programmes | Tetra Pak Indonesia 

ABOUT TETRA PAK

We're here to make food safe and available. It's why we provide advanced food production systems. In collaboration with our customers and suppliers, driven by more than 24,000 dedicated employees worldwide, we protect food sustainably every day for hundreds of millions of people in more than 160 countries. Because we're here to fulfil a purpose: We commit to making food safe and available, everywhere, and we promise to protect what's good: food, people and the planet.

More information about Tetra Pak is available at tetrapak.comYoutube.com/user/tetrapak@tetrapakhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/tetra-pak/

[1] Source: Tetra Pak, The impact of School Feeding Programmes

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