Hot and cold facts
It is a fact well known by every sleep-starved parent who has fumbled late at night to prepare a bottle for a hungry baby: Powdered milk has some awkward properties.
If it is not stored properly, prepared in sterile bottles and mixed with clean, well-boiled water the baby will keep howling -- from stomach cramps.
And if you doze off at the stove the milk can suddenly boil, rapidly changing its taste and composition -- and not for the better.
Fresh milk is nutrient-rich, which makes it a lively breeding ground for bacteria so most Western consumers now prefer pasteurized milk. In the 19th century, French chemist Louis Pasteur developed a system of raising and holding the temperature of milk at 68 degrees. While this killed many harmful pathogens food purists also claimed it destroyed some natural benefits.
Opponents of pasteurization were vocal for many years early in the last century but the process is now well accepted. It is also used for other natural products, including fruit juices, beer, wine and honey.
Pasteurization does not kill all micro-organisms, so the milk has a short shelf life. In tropical Indonesia the absence of an integrated refrigerated transport and retailing system means UHT milk (also known as long-life milk) has a ready market.
UHT milk lasts about six months at room temperature. It does not require refrigeration until the pack has been opened.
The manufacturing process is critical. The temperature has to be raised to 140 degrees and held for four seconds before rapid chilling. The system was developed in Sweden in the last century and eliminates the need for added preservatives. It destroys all bacteria.
Families with refrigerators tend to buy one-liter cartons of UHT milk, which Sekar Tanjung does not make. Instead, it has concentrated on the individual one-pack, one-drink market. These retail for around Rp 1,500 each.
Small shops in Indonesia seldom have refrigerated cabinets to display perishable products so prefer to stock powdered milk.
Prices vary depending on the product and additives, but 400 grams typically costs about Rp 20,000.
However, widespread TV and print promotion of the benefits of UHT milk (which retails at around Rp 8,000 per liter) is turning busy families towards the liquid product.
A survey last year claimed more than 80 per cent of Indonesian milk consumption was powdered, compared with less than one per cent in the U.S.
This indicates that a huge potential exists for UHT milk manufacturers and dairy farmers.
-- Duncan Graham