For a growing child, few foods are worth as much as milk. A single glass delivers calcium for bone development, protein for muscle growth and vitamins that support everything from eyesight to immune function. In households where money is short and meals are simple, milk is often the most reliable source of nutrients a child gets in a day.
Keeping it on the table is the harder part.
“Milk is not just a product. It is a foundation,” says Wael Khoury, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Southern Africa. “When children have consistent access to nutrient-dense foods like milk, the evidence is clear: it supports better growth outcomes, better performance at school and better long-term health. The question we ask ourselves every day is how to make sure milk gets to the children who need it, reliably and without fail. How to ensure that the supply chain doesn’t fail children.”
In South Africa, refrigeration gaps, unreliable transport and food waste remain daily realities, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. “Getting milk to the people who need it safely, affordably and without compromising its nutritional value is a food security matter, not just a technical one,” Khoury says.
UHT processing: the answer
UHT processing is one part of that answer. Milk processed at ultra-high temperatures and packed in aseptic cartons stays safe for months without any need for refrigeration. No cold storage at the distribution point. No spoilage when a delivery runs late. No waste when the power goes out. For a child in a rural school or a household far from the nearest supermarket that is the difference between milk on the table and none. Advances in aseptic packaging have taken this further, with lighter materials, better seals and formats suited to communities where bulk buying is not practical. The hard truth is this: When the packaging works, children benefit. When packaging fails, they suffer.
“Packaging innovation is never an end in itself,” says Khoury. “It exists to solve a real problem. In Southern Africa, that problem is getting safe, nutritious food to people who need it, in conditions that are not always ideal. That is the work.”
South Africa’s dairy sector is the fourth largest agricultural sector in the country, with a gross value of production of approximately R25 billion in 2023. More than 984 milk producers employ 60 000 farm workers directly, with a further 40 000 people supported through indirect jobs across the value chain.
However, the sector has not had it easy in recent years. A foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2024, record feed costs and a decade of consolidation have pushed the number of dairy farmers down by 60%.
A recovering sector only helps children if the milk actually reaches them. Processing and packaging are what close the gap. This World Milk Day, which coincides with International Children’s Day on 1 June, is what Tetra Pak is focused on.