The new milk jug makes its debut
Categories: Health & safety, Eating & nutrition, In the news, Gadgets & tech, Mealtime, Resources
Would you use the new milk jug? Or, are you wedded to the cardboard cartons of what is soon to be the past? I remember when I was a kid and we got milk delivered to our house every week in a glass bottle. Nothing tasted more refreshing. By the time I was a teen those days were gone and we got cartons. Now, those cartons are being replaced by something less expensive to produce and more environmentally sound.
Sound good? It is. Still, the new concept has some consumers fuming, or at least perplexed. The problem with the new milk jug is that it SPILLS. Kids drink more milk than anybody, and this new design, being favored by places like Wal-Mart and Costco, which is becoming more available by the day, is not easy to use.
Kids have trouble pouring anyway, but the new milk jug, so foreign in its design to many, makes that simple task more manageable. Some sellers have taken it upon themselves to educate consumers on the how-to, to make pouring from the jug easier. Folks still are a little unnerved by the square shape of the jug--and they're not convinced the same old milk is in there. I had the same problem with Parmalat. Now I love it, but it was hard getting used to it at first.
What about you? Had any experience with the new milk? And???
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 19)
Nicola 6-30-2008 @ 8:50PM
We used to have our milk delivered also, so are used to the square glass bottles. I admit that they are very difficult to pour without spilling. The company where we got our milk actually sold attachable spouts to make it easier. They were dishwasher safe, so simply required having a couple on hand, one for the wash and one for the current milk bottle. Perhaps they'll have something similar for the "new milk"?
We have a herd share now, so get our milk each week straight from the farm. It comes in large glass mason jars and those are murder to pour. The first glass is always a spilled nightmare. But, such is life when you're trying to take the more environmentally conscious path. That's the point -- its not all about convenience. Convenience is what got us into this wasteful mess in the first place.
Reply
sazzytxn 7-01-2008 @ 3:04PM
When I was a kid we got fresh farm milk in wide mouth gallon jars,too. Nothing tastes as good! But for your first and subsequent glasses just use a nice clean dipper. That's how my mother did it after stirring in the cream that sat on top. She also used some of the cream and made butter and the rest of that jar to make cottage cheese.
edith olah 7-01-2008 @ 4:58PM
I totally agree.
In Canada-the waste is a LITTLE less in that everybody has a plastic jug and they buy milk in plastic bags which you set inside the jug...you then snip off only a corner and pour (the jug keeps it stable).
When finished you only have to throw away the empty bg and replace it with a new bag - setting it again into the jug.
Gail Grier 7-01-2008 @ 7:37PM
For an adult the new jugs are not that hard to manipulate. But for an older person, child, or anyone with a disability or infirmary, such as arthritis, these new jugs are un-weldy.
PeterPeterPE 7-01-2008 @ 8:51PM
You should not be drinking unpasteurized/raw milk!!!!!!!!!
Roger Roff 7-01-2008 @ 10:55PM
It spills. Fits nicely in the refrigerator, but the opening is so large that when it's poured it spills, drips and in general makes a mess.
It can be fixed, but it needs to be re-engineered.
MilkyWay 7-01-2008 @ 11:21PM
Is it even possible that we will survive as a species? Seriously, milk jugs are that big a deal? We are a seriously f'ed, people.
sheri 7-01-2008 @ 11:33PM
For the past year my family and I have been getting our milk and other products delivered to us from Winder Dairy. They take and recycle the used milk containers and are very very earth friendly. My hats off to companies that care about their customers and care about the environment.
FFF 7-02-2008 @ 1:10AM
Waste? There's nothing more wasteful than spillage. What could be a greater waste of the land, water, cow flatulence, transport emissions, and environmental impact of producing and transporting your container than to spill the contents? But it makes you feel good about yourself to buy into the idea of a more "conscious" container, which is nothing more than pseudo-green marketing, rock on!
Majormom 7-02-2008 @ 1:25AM
More fancy packaging. No wonder milk's uo to $4.37 a gallon
Diana 7-02-2008 @ 2:57AM
I prefer most things in glass, but tried the new jug and had no trouble with pouring. Found container to be useful when emptied and washed for keeping kool-Aid or Iced tea fresh and easy to store.
Former sailor 7-02-2008 @ 4:44AM
Oh, yeah! Let's be "environmentally conscious:" instead of buying good, safe, milk from the grocery store when we buy the rest of our food, let's all hop in our cars, and drive to some farm out in the country, where we can buy some unpasteurized, raw milk. That way, not only will we be contributing unecessarily to air pollution, we can feed our children a product that the FDA says "is inherently dangerous, and...should not be consumed by anyone at any time, for any purpose." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that "raw milk is a source of infections from salmonella, E.coli. and other bacteria. Between 1998 and 2005, 1,000 people were sickened and two died from raw Milk." Go to http://cdc.gov/mmwr, and do a search for "raw milk."
Get real, folks: raw milk, right from the farm, makes for a nice, folksy, nostalgic story, but protect your children and yourselves: buy no unpasteurized milk - ever!
Former sailor 7-02-2008 @ 4:58AM
Oh, yeah! Let's be "environmentally conscious:" instead of buying good, safe, milk from the grocery store when we buy the rest of our food, let's all hop in our cars, and drive to some farm out in the country, where we can buy some unpasteurized, raw milk. That way, not only will we be contributing unecessarily to air pollution, we can feed our children a product that the FDA says "is inherently dangerous, and...should not be consumed by anyone at any time, for any purpose." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that "raw milk is a source of infections from salmonella, E.coli. and other bacteria. Between 1998 and 2005, 1,000 people were sickened and two died from raw Milk." Go to http://cdc.gov/mmwr, and do a search for "raw milk."
Get real, folks: raw milk, right from the farm, makes for a nice, folksy, nostalgic story, but protect your children and yourselves: buy no unpasteurized milk - ever!
renee 7-02-2008 @ 3:20PM
Our Sam's Club sells milk and orange juice in these new plastic jugs. I cannot stand them although the price is cheaper than in the supermarkets. A Sam's club employee told me that one of her customers saves the regular plastic jugs (rinsed out of course) and transfers the milk/juice from the new jugs into the old ones. Just pour through a funnel. I admit I have not done this yet but how could it fail?????????!!!!!!!!!
dreamcatcher 7-02-2008 @ 3:47PM
I've used these milk jugs and along with my own experiences, watched my younger siblings use them... Honestly they're more hassle than its worth.. i'd rather pay more for the old jugs,. with these jugs it costs more in the long run because of of the milk wasted when trying to pour them.. the mouth of the jug is to large and when u go to pour milk from them it's hard not to spill any. more ends up on the counter and floor than in the glass, forcing us to buy more milk than we normally would,, despite the redused cost to manufator these jugs i also doubt we'll see a decrease in the cost of milk per gallon. this is just another way for them to make a bigger profit.
Geo 8-15-2008 @ 9:16PM
edith olah wrote: In Canada-the waste is a LITTLE less in that everybody has a plastic jug and they buy milk in plastic bags which you set inside the jug...you then snip off only a corner and pour (the jug keeps it stable).
When finished you only have to throw away the empty bg and replace it with a new bag - setting it again into the jug.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I remember seeing this for the first time in Canada back in the '70's. I thought it was a really cool idea and uses a lot less plastic as our current jugs.
Laura 7-02-2008 @ 6:23PM
All this blab about unpasturized milk.
A farm can't sell milk like that unless it is labled 'For Animal Consumption Only' or 'Not For Human Consumption', something in that neighborhood.
There is a big amount of trust that the consumer gives the farmer when he takes it home and drinks it. I would surely hope that the farmer follows strict cleansing of the udder, and clean milk buckets, and quick cooling of the milk.
A person can heat and then cool the milk at home. I am pretty sure that will effectively kill any bad stuff in there.
The 'whole' milk that you buy at the store is not whole. The cream is gone, and it sure looks watered down, from what I remember of living on a dairy farm in the 80's and hand milking cows.
By the way... I bought milk from the store to feed my son after he turned 1 year old. I did not grow up there, and did not care for the taste.
Alexandra_Covington 7-02-2008 @ 7:41PM
I am slightly handicapped, (slight Myasthenia Gravis), and SOMETIMES have difficulty opening milk cartons. My best friend has R.A......and USUALLY has difficulty opening milk cartons.
I'm old enough to remember, not only glass milk bottles, but also
CARDBOARD MILK CARTONS WITH OPENINGS ATTACHED BY A....S T A P L E. Though not as good-tasting or clean as glass milk bottles, these cartons were at least easy to open! These containers were all one-quart affairs, as I remember, (and smaller ones for use by us school-children)....but that's no reason why a "top attached by a staple" can't be used for larger containers.
All cardboard milk containers then, as I remember, were also lined with a thin coating of WAX, not plastic as today. I used to have a lot of fun, running my finger-nails up and down the container, getting the wax off. COULD WAX COATINGS AGAIN BE SEEN, REPLACING PLASTIC....AND SO GOING ' GREEN '? (Hey, that rhymes!)
Glass really is best. Some people I know even re-pour their milk from plastic containers into glass ones, as soon as they're ready to use them! BUT WHATEVER IS USED TO ' CONTAIN ' THE MILK, IT SHOULD BE AS SPILL-PROOF AS POSSIBLE.
OR....IS THIS A SNEAKY WAY THAT MILK PRODUCERS WANT TO BE ABLE TO SELL MORE MILK? I mean, if we get used to the idea of spilling some every time a carton is first opened.....
I believe that bedding manufacturers are already doing somethng like this. The new mattresses are much highter, and much heavier than heretofore. WHY? I've spent a few sleepless nights (?) figuring this out..........MAYBE because now, it's impssible to "turn" mattresses......so people will have to buy more mattresses, more often?
IF MORE SPILLABLE CONTAINERS ARE THE MILK INDUSTRY'S IDEA OF HOW TO SELL MORE MILK...........I SUGGEST WE ALL BUY, AND DRINK, MORE TEA!
Former sailor 7-04-2008 @ 1:12AM
Oh, yeah! Let's be "environmentally conscious:" instead of buying good, safe, milk from the grocery store when we buy the rest of our food, let's all hop in our cars, and drive to some farm out in the country, where we can buy some unpasteurized, raw milk. That way, not only will we be contributing unecessarily to air pollution, we can feed our children a product that the FDA says "is inherently dangerous, and...should not be consumed by anyone at any time, for any purpose." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that "raw milk is a source of infections from salmonella, E.coli. and other bacteria. Between 1998 and 2005, 1,000 people were sickened and two died from raw Milk." Go to http://cdc.gov/mmwr, and do a search for "raw milk."
Get real, folks: raw milk, right from the farm, makes for a nice, folksy, nostalgic story, but protect your children and yourselves: buy no unpasteurized milk - ever!
Nicola 7-04-2008 @ 8:37AM
Raw milk is a bit off topic, but just to ease your mind a bit, I've been drinking it for 32 years and miraculously am still alive. Sheer luck I suppose. Oddly enough, my parents were not from America, and they too drank raw milk for their entire lives, since they were infants. And their parents, and their parents too! Good god we are a lucky family.
Keep in mind that pasteurization came into widespread use to combat the ick that festers on factory farms. If you go to a small farm with a few cows and a family who does the daily milking, the worst that you'd get from raw milk would be a tummy upset from things not stored properly. Same as you'd get from pasteurized milk that wasn't stored properly.
Raw milk, whole milk, is so much better for our bodies. But you go ahead and fear it. Keep drinking your dead buggy filled milk and enjoy it. I'll keep enjoying my milk. Everybody happy.