Most farmers want the dairy supply chain to do more to prevent “slight damage to the milk,” since they can harm the nutrients and taste of the product.

Recent studies have shown that most British dairy farmers are aware of the problem of “light damage” affecting the nutrients of milk and its taste. Scientific studies have shown that both natural and indoor lighting can affect the quality of food, the taste and smell of dairy products.

Testing by Cornell University shows that some nutrients, in particular protein and vitamin B2 (riboflavin), can decrease by 28% after just 20 minutes of exposure to light.

Consumers also believe that retailers should take action, with more than half (55%) of respondents saying that supermarkets should actively use “light-proof” packaging of milk, and less than a third (29%) of consumers know that light damages milk.

Three out of five dairy farmers (62%) are also convinced that the entire supply chain should take more responsibility on this issue. And more than that, more than 77% of dairy farmers are concerned that the quality of their products may decline before they reach consumers due to current packaging standards.

These are data from a survey conducted by Censuswide in March of this year among 1,000 British consumers and 150 British dairy farmers.