Thoughts From a "Lost Canadian" About . . . Milk in a Bag???

As a "Lost Canadian" I have been focused on learning about my "new" Country - Canada, and have enjoyed learning about their many, amazing National Parks. But now I want to focus on some of the things which make Canada unique, interesting, wonderful, and ways they are different than the USA - today I'm sharing with you what I've learned about something which is certainly unique, interesting, different than what I'm used to in the US, and potentially wonderful . . . milk-in-a-bag.

Yes, milk-in-a-bag! This is what I've learned on line about milk-in-a-bag . . . 

In parts of Canada, milk is often sold in plastic "pillow pouches" - typically sold in a three pack of 1.33 liter bags. To use it, you place one bag into a reusable pitcher, snip off a small corner to create a spout, and pour. The milk-in-a-bag phenomenon is largely a regional staple found in Eastern and Central Canada, particularly in provinces like Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces. Western provinces (such as British Columbia and Alberta) generally rely on traditional plastic jugs or cartons instead. I have learned you are able to find milk in standard cartons in the areas which sell milk-in-a-bag, but they are not as common.

Bagged milk was first introduced in Canada in 1967. Its popularity surged in the 1970s when Canada switched to the metric system. Dairy producers found it much easier and cheaper to retrofit their assembly lines to produce 1.33-liter metric bags than to re-engineer rigid jugs or cartons, and they slightly increased the total volume to preserve sales.

Benefits

• Environmental Impact: According to The Canadian Encyclopedia, polyethylene milk pouches require 20% to 30% less energy to produce and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% to 40% compared to rigid jugs and cartons. This makes a lot of sense to me - I can see how it would be more environmentally friendly to use milk pouches/bags in place of plastic milk cartons.
• Convenience & Storage: The soft bags are easy to store and stack in the fridge, and unopened bags can be placed in the freezer for longer shelf life. I can also see how these milk pouches/bags would free up space in the refrigerator making them more convenient. 
• Portion Control: By using multiple smaller bags instead of one massive gallon jug, the milk stays fresher because you only open one bag at a time, allowing you to go through the 1.33 L portion quickly before it spoils. I suppose this depends on how fast your family drinks milk - we tend to go through milk quickly at my house.

Usage Quirks

• The Pitcher: You must have a dedicated, hard-sided pitcher to hold the bag so it doesn't flop over or spill when full. I absolutely can see how it would be extremely difficult to pour milk from a bag, thus making a pitcher necessary.
• Opening It: While most Canadians use standard kitchen scissors to cut a small tip off the corner of the bag, there is a specialized, widely-used plastic cutting tool with a small, safe blade called a Snippit designed specifically for this task. The Snippit sounds like a handy tool.
• Resealing: Many Canadians don't even use a clip or fold the bag over after opening it. Because the cut hole is small, the milk stays fresh. I find this very interesting - I would have thought they might have had a clip or something to close the bags, but apparently not.

So, yesterday I learned something new - and surprising - about milk in Canada, and today I shared it with you, and now you know about milk-in-a-bag, too! You will find out more about it at this link. (The photo is from facebook)