Thursday, February 4, 2010

Skip the UHT

I just read this short but revealing article about UTH (ultra-high temperature, or ultra pasteurized) milk over at Food Renegade.

Just Say No to UHT

Here's an excerpt:

UHT milk has a shelf life of 6 to 9 months (until opened). When the world’s foremost UHT milk processor, Parmalat, first introduced UHT milk to the U.S. market back in 1993, they hit a snag. Americans distrust milk that hasn’t been refrigerated. We like our milk cold, and UHT milk doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

So, milk producers got creative. They could extend the shelf life of their product and not advertise that they were doing it. They’d sell the milk in normal packaging, in the refrigerator aisle, and none of us would be the wiser.

Now, almost all of the organic milk and the majority of conventional milk available in U.S. supermarkets is UHT processed.


Ew! And I was particularly interested by the little bit at the end about UHT milk not being able to support a culture (like yogurt). Go read it! And then go find yourself some raw milk!

4 comments:

  1. I question the "almost all" and "majority" part. I do see labels that say "ultra pasteurized" but certainly not on a majority. Are they not required to label that?

    And as far as finding raw milk...good luck on that! Almost impossible.

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  2. YES!!!

    and i must add that finding raw milk was not difficult for us at all. i pay an arm and a leg for it, but for me it's worth it. we just asked around to local producers involved in the real food lifestyle, and they pointed us the right way. if i absolutely couldn't find real milk, or if it was illegal here to buy it, i'd just get myself a pygmy milk goat (and a buddy for her) and stick her in the backyard. and yes, i live in town on a tiny lot. that's how much i believe in raw milk. it healed my husbands psoriasis and my believed lactose intolerance. turns out, i'm only intolerant to the UHT stuff- because it's not a live food!

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  3. Glad to see I'm not the only alarmed by the proliference of UHT processed foods. So many things are 'ultra pasteurized' these days I want to bang my head against the wall when shopping. I'm glad there's at least one store in my city that carries real milk, but I'm confused as to why some of the others haven't followed suit, as they seem to carry other real foods.

    I'm still looking for someone selling eggs from pastured chickens at the farmer's market. Or eggs at all. I can't wait to have chickens or ducks of my own when I move.

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  4. PAM, $5/ gallon.. low heat vat pasteurized milk at rosauers. NOT raw, but cheaper and no hormones ect.. next best thing for those who can't afford to drive to Washougal and pay $9 a gallon for the raw (that's 45 min. for us) AND NON_HOMOGENIZED very important!~ I know I've said this before you can plug your ears now. LOL

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