CHICAGO (Reuters) - Does your milk taste like wet cardboard? Blame the bright lights in your market's dairy section.

"Milk stored within a few inches of fluorescent light in translucent containers usually has a detectable oxidized flavor within two to four hours and a distinct off-flavor within 12 hours," said Robert Marshall, University of Missouri food science professor.

"Get it from the dark, definitely don't get the front row," he noted.

So when you buy milk, Marshall says, reach to the back of the dairy section.

While the oxidation has little effect on milk's nutritional value and is not related to bacteria, fluorescent light does inactivate riboflavin (vitamin B2) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Whole milk suffers the least because it has a high level of fat which blocks out the damaging wavelengths.