Organic milk

[DizBelle]

The organic milk we currently have has an expiration date of Dec 21. That's more than 4 weeks away. Why is it that organic milk can last so long but regular mile has, at best, 10 days?

 

[Geoff_M]

It has nothing to do with what type of milk it is... "organic" or not. It has to do with the pasteurization process used. There are two types that use different temperatures, and each one has its own "dating" period.

 

[legalsea]

It has nothing to do with that type of milk it is... "organic" or not. It has to do with the pasteurization process used. There are two types that use different temperatures, and each one has its own "dating" period.

I had wondered about that myself. Thanks. I have noticed that the 'organic' milk, while more expensive, does last much longer.

Remember the days of the milk man (well, I do). Milk spoiled so quickly back then!

 

[DizBelle]

Any idea why they only use the longer lasting pasturization process with organic milk? I've never seen such long dates with anything but organic milk.

 

[punkin]

I do not like the taste of ultra-pasteurized milk. You can definitely buy organic that is not ultra-pasteurized (and I do).

 

[RadioNate]

yep - different pasteurization process. For us it makes more sense to spend the extra on organic because we aren't tossing 1/2 the gallon because it went bad before we used it.

 

[themarquis]

Yup, it's true -- they just use a different pasturization process.

I was curious about this myself a while back and looked it up.

It's something like all milk could be pasteurized so it lasts that long (ultra pasteurized?), but either it's a bit more expensive or they think consumers would be slightly weirded out by the longer dates, so most "regular" milk doesn't use it.

As to why the organic milks are often ultra pasteurized, it's because the market for organic is smaller and the milk is more expensive. Stores aren't buying the stuff in huge quantities and throwing it out when it gets near the expiration date. They buy small batches of it and it sells slowly, so they need longer dates. It's possible in some areas it's comign from farther away (since there aren't a ton of organic dairy farms around) so the long shipping times also necessitate better pasteurization.

as a side note, there are some organic brands that sell UHT shelf-stable milk that doesn't need to be refrigerated until it's opened. So cool!