Fonterra introduces longer lasting Anchor milk
While all milk is pasteurized, Anchor – one of Fonterra’s brands – says that it uses microfiltration to reduce the naturally-occurring bacteria in pasteurized milk that causes spoilage by an additional 95%.
It does this by pushing the milk through a special ceramic filter, creating product that has an extended shelf life of 21 days. Normal pasteurized milk has a shelf life of 15 days.
No additives or preservative are added to Anchor milk to achieve this longer shelf life.
'Best of both worlds'
Kiril Simonovski, director of marketing at Fonterra, said, “We think it offers consumers the best of both worlds through its superior taste profile, combined with the convenience of an extended shelf life.
“Milk has become something of a commodity in Australia, but we saw the opportunity to raise the bar with Anchor and believe microfiltration will be a game-changer, with Victoria our first market.
“We know consumers shop by used-by-date because they want the freshest product. We think Anchor will appeal to discerning households looking for a premium product with a recommended retail price of only slightly more than regular milk.”
Popular in other countries
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) food manufacturing leader, Darren Gardiner, said microfiltration had been received well in other parts of the world.
“While we’re all familiar with the concept of filtration when it comes to water and coffee, the additional step of filtering out the unwanted bacteria in milk before pasteurisation is a major development in fresh milk,” Gardiner said.
“We congratulate Anchor on making this investment and bringing this innovation to milk in Australia, and hope they experience the same success as companies in the UK and Canada.”
Sales benefit farm fund
Anchor Milk is sourced from a small number of farms in Western Victoria, located close to where the milk is processed.
Five cents from the sale of every bottle of Anchor milk and cream sold will be invested back into sustainable dairy farming through the Anchor Dairy Fund (capped at $179k (A$250k) per annum).
