One of life’s nuisances is opening the fridge to pour yourself some milk only to find it expired last week. One Queensland company may have the answer to this dilemma, aiming to put milk with a 60-day shelf life into Australian supermarkets this year.
These days you’re lucky to find milk that will last over a week. So how does this crazy new innovation work?
In 2019 Naturo, a Sunshine Coast-based company, developed a multi-step process to keep natural milk fresh for 60 days, reports the ABC. The details of the patented technology have not been revealed but are said to avoid procedures involving heat, such as pasteurisation, and do not require additives or preservatives. The process also retains the milk’s original nutritional value.
Naturo CEO Jeff Hastings told the ABC that:
“We are finalising the validation work now after six years. This is the work where the regulator gets involved to make sure we are safe for human consumption. That process will be completed circa end of February and after that we’ll be in the market to our own business partners around Queensland with commercial milk.”
After the completed pilot project, Hastings hopes to build a larger plant and employ an additional 30 people. But if all goes according to plan Queenslanders could be drinking this new milk by March.
Last week, the federal government announced $1 million of funding which will help to finalise and validate this new technology.
Karen Andrews, Minister for Technology, said that once available, the technology would provide many communities with easier access to milk.
“The funding will be used to finalise work at Naturo’s Queensland pilot plant to create its first batches of milk to then export … to the world.”
Hastings hopes that this innovation will be a benefit to dairy farmers and will allow them to access other markets.
“We hope to provide a better return for dairy farmers and also allow them to access a well-posed technology, and through that, export markets.”
Longer lasting milk would be hugely beneficial for regional communities where milk may expire far sooner than people are able to drink it due to short shelf life. The balancing act of this new development will be to ensure it benefits local farmers as well.
Another battle this new technology faces will be getting the thought of drinking 60-day old milk through customer’s heads.
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