Last Updated on July 19, 2021 by OJ Maño
San Miguel Corporation (SMC), through its packaging unit, has developed a packaging solution that will extend the life of carabao’s milk without the need for preservatives, improves the local product’s marketability, and potentially jumpstarting growth of the carabao industry.
New Carabao’s Milk Packaging
SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang made the announcement months after it first helped carabao farmer cooperatives mitigate financial losses at the height of pandemic restrictions last year when it bought up their excess milk inventory.
As a result, thousands of liters of fresh carabao milk were saved from being dumped and were instead donated to poor communities.
Ang revealed that for the past few months, SMC’s San Miguel Packaging Group had been working to help carabao farmers find a solution on how to preserve the freshness of their product.
“With this technology, we expect that more school children will be able to drink nutritious carabao’s milk, particularly those who reside in far-flung, mountainous, and hard-to-reach areas, and those with no electricity or limited storage facilities,” Ang said.
Recently, the company was able to finalize a packaging solution using new “retort” technology. The process allows fresh carabao milk to be sterilized in aluminum cans without the need for preservatives. The process extends carabao milk’s shelf life for up to six months.
Retorting is heating of low acid foods prone to microbial spoilage in hermetically sealed containers to extend their shelf life. The goal of retort processing is to obtain commercial sterilization by application of heat. Foods can be sterilized in rigid containers like glass, metal cans, and plastic or flexible retort pouches.
Abi. (2018, July 18). Retort Technology in Food Processing Industry. Food Buddies. https://www.foodbuddies.in/retort-technology-in-food-processing-industry/.
“This will be a major boost for carabao farmers and the carabao industry in general. The main limitation—perishability–that kept farmers from maximizing their income and growing their business have been solved. Now, their products can be sold to more consumers in more markets,” Ang said.
“Carabao milk is very nutritious so there is a big market for it. We see this as potentially jumpstarting the growth of the carabao industry. We look forward to continuing helping them in any way we can to further grow their industry,” he added.
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SMC’s Carabao’s Milk Packaging Facility
Ang said that the company invested in new equipment at its beverage filling facility in San Fernando, Pampanga, to equip it for the new retort process. The process can also be used for a variety of beverage products, including teas, coffee, soya, and other milk-based products.
While utilizing the retort process is new to the company, the aluminum cans it has been producing have long been capable of being utilized for the retort.
Ang said the company is open to farmers, farmer-cooperatives, and small producers of similar products, who may want to learn more about the process, and engage San Miguel’s packaging unit as a toller or packaging provider, to grow their business.
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“We are more than eager to work with and help small producers. At the end of the day, this technology was developed with our farmers and entrepreneurs in mind, to help them through this critical period, as the economy is still not what it was. By providing them a way to distribute their products to more customers, we’re hoping to help them stay in business, grow their industry, and support food security for our country as we deal with the pandemic,” Ang said.
A product development specialist works with carabao milk at San Miguel Yamamura Packaging Corp.’s facility in San Fernando, Pampanga. The packaging unit of San Miguel Corporation recently completed the development of a packaging solution that extends the shelf life of carabao’s milk for up to six months, without the use of preservatives. According to SMC president Ramon S. Ang, this will allow carabao farmers to market and distribute their products to more consumers, potentially boosting the local carabao industry.