Push for PET in Southern Europe?

Bottling milk in PET is becoming increasingly popular in Italy. Fattoria Latte Sano, together with packaging specialist Sidel, is moving forward by switching the packaging of its UHT milk from cartons to “aseptic PET”. This is intended to set the manufacturer apart from the competition on the supermarket shelf.

Fattoria Latte Sano is committed to rural areas and livestock farming and has been supplying households in the Italian region of Lazio with its products for more than 70 years. Just a short drive from Rome, the company has become a well-known player in the region.

To boost business, the packaging strategy has now been revised. Fattoria Latte Sano has switched to PET, a fully recyclable packaging material, in collaboration with Sidel’s packaging specialists, to produce long-life (ESL) and UHT milk.

According to Sidel, although the Italian market is still dominated by milk packaged in carton or high-density polyethylene (HDPE), milk packaged in PET is becoming increasingly popular. PET is a particularly cost-effective and sustainable packaging solution that allows manufacturers to differentiate their dairy products on supermarket shelves from traditional square cartons or HDPE bottles.

Aseptic filling solution

Sidel is already working with many dairies worldwide. A key factor in the cooperation was the approval of the aseptic “Combi Predis” by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2017 for the manufacture and marketing of low-acid products in the United States – the world’s first aseptic filling solution with preform dry sterilization, according to the company.

“A combination of market demand and our desire for a sustainable business model encouraged us to choose Sidel’s proven aseptic PET packaging solution with its integrated stretch blow fill-seal solution using preform dry sterilization technology,” said Marco Lorenzoni, President of Fattoria Latte Sano.