Effect of package light transmittance on the vitamin content of milk, part 3: Fortified UHT low‐fat milk

Abstract

AbstractThis work is the third and last part of a milk study evaluating the effect of package light transmittance on the vitamin content of milk, in this case on fortified UHT low‐fat milk. The milk was stored under light with an intensity of 700 lux in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with varying light transmittance to monitor the changes in the vitamin A, B2 and D3 contents over a storage period of 12 weeks at 23°C. Milk packed in pigmented PET bottles with the lowest light transmittance, which was stored in the dark under the same experimental conditions, served as the ‘control’ sample. In clear PET bottles, a reduction of 93% of the initial content was observed for vitamin A and 66% for vitamin D3, while the vitamin B2 content was completely degraded. In all pigmented PET bottles, the vitamin retention was only slightly higher; the losses ranged between 70 and 90% for vitamin A, between 63 and 95% for vitamin B2, and between 35 and 65% for vitamin D3 depending on the pigmentation level. In the dark‐stored ‘control’ sample, a 16% loss could be observed for vitamin A, while the level of vitamins B2 and D3 remained almost stable. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.