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Refrigerated Dairy Products in Supermarket Display Cases

Refrigerated dairy products are very sensitive to the UV and visible spectrum radiation commonly emitted by supermarket dairy merchandiser lighting.

Within a few hours of exposure to fluorescent display case lighting, milkfats turn rancid in a photochemical reaction called lipid oxidation. Lipid oxidation causes dairy products to develop off-flavors and destroys several vitamins, lowering the nutritional value of the dairy product.

Shoppers can taste the difference and are put off from buying dairy products when they perceive the freshness and integrity to marred.

The type of packaging used in dairy products will determine how much exposure to light occurs and its impact on the nutritional integrity and food safety of the product. Clear, opaque packaging is the least desirable, solid milk cartons that deflect light are the most ideal.

Dairy Case Lighting - Milking the Profits

It's not just light that affects the dairy products on display, the infra-red radiation (ambient heat from both internal & external sources) that penetrates the case also creates a food safety risk and eats away at profit margins.

All types of dairy products including:

• yougurts, packaged cheeses,
• sour creams, cottage cheeses,
• butter, tofu and whip creams

are adversely affected by ambient heat and light.

And once an items temperature rises, even a few degrees, the nutritional integrity and food safety is jeopardized.

At the end of the day, the variation in product temperatures can mean hundreds of dollars of product that must be thrown out,
representing lost revenue for the store owner.

For added food safety we recommend that grocery retailers install Promolux low radiation lights in all their open refrigerated display cases.

Promolux lights will reduce the amount of heat and damaging uv that infiltrates the cases and at the same time, showcase the bounty of colors that line the shelves for maximum shopper attention.

Additional info on dairy lighting and safe product merchandising:

For dairy science references and excerpts click here.

Promolux True Color Definition Lamps

Promolux Safe Spectrum balanced full spectrum lamps emit lower levels of heat and ultraviolet radiation than regular supermarket fluorescent lamps, thus reducing the rate of damaging chemical reactions in milk and dairy products. Compared to other fluorescent lighting, Promolux lamps emit 86% lower UV B radiation, a shorter wavelength that penetrates and causes heating, and 52% lower UV A radiation, a longer wavelength that tends to affect surfaces.

Because Promolux lamps are designed for true color definition, they have a more balanced visible spectrum than other fluorescent lamps. The yellow and green wavelengths that are predominant in regular fluorescent lighting are the most damaging wavelengths in the visible spectrum. Promolux lamps emit a more balanced range of wavelengths, including more of the red and blue wavelengths and more moderate levels of the yellow and green wavelengths. It is impossible to create a natural light that does not have any yellow or green wavelengths, so light sources will always be damaging to some extent.

However, since Promolux lamps minimize the emission of damaging visible spectrum and UV wavelengths, using Promolux lamps will reduce shrinkage by 30 to 50 percent compared to the shrinkage caused by standard dairy display case lights. These savings will vary depending upon the duration of light exposure, which can vary from day to day and from hour to hour; the type of packaging; the fat content; and how the dairy product has been processed.