Over the weekend—while I was back home for my brother’s wedding (some pictures will likely come soon)—I noticed that the organic milk my mom has started buying has a really long shelf life. The carton I was pouring milk from, for example, didn’t expire for well over a month. I was curious why this was the case so I did a little research and it seems that this milk has been treated with ultra-high-temperature (UHT) processing, rather than regular pasteurization. From what I’ve read on Wikipedia, it seems that UHT milk could actually sit at room temperature for months without going bad, and in Europe it’s actually sold unrefrigerated. Apparently they sell it refrigerated here because Americans wouldn’t buy unrefrigerated milk in test markets.
I couldn’t find a consensus as to why organic milk is UHT processed, though. Some people said it was because “organic cows” aren’t given antibiotics, so UHT must be used to be sure all bacteria are killed. Another said organic milk is typically shipped from further away, so they have to use UHT or it would be about to expire by the time it got to the store. I’m not sure which is the real reason and I don’t feel like doing any more research.
Anyway, I thought that was an interesting fact I’d share with the class.