I was buying groceries with my health-conscious friend at the supermarket the other morning, and this question came to our mind. Despite the fact that organic milk
being naturally produced, why does it last longer than the conventional milk? Some organic milk can even last for months, which makes me doubt the definition
of the word “organic”.
Being organic has no link with the expiry date
After some
research, the reason is that the expiry date of the milk does not relate to the
milk being organic. The expiry date is based on the type of pasteurization process used to preserve
the milk.
Organic
milk means that no use of antibiotics, growth hormones and the like were used on
the cows producing the milk.
Organic
milk is subsequently processed by means of pasteurization to prolong the life
of the milk. Different pasteurization methods ensues the different expiry
dates. To put it simply, milk can last longer the longer and higher temperature
it undergoes pasteurization. Ultrahigh Temperature (UHT) treatment is quite
commonly used to pasteurize organic milk.
However, in
the process the milk loses some of its nutrients and vitamins, and of course,
tastes different.
Are chemicals added during pasteurization?
Pasteurization
is heating the milk to kill most of the bacteria for it to last longer. It is
heartening to know that pasteurization is not a chemical process, and thus no
chemicals are added.
In conclusion
While organic milk might achieve the health benefit you are looking
for, the process of preservation is also important to make sure you capture the
nutritional benefits you are looking for.
