What has happened to our milk

I have been working 10 early mornings in a row, and finally got to make myself a good coffee this morning. Grabbed the cream, organic Dairyland brand, smelled it poured it...looks good. Date August 11. So two week past the expiration date. Some will be mortified, but i even tasted it and its fine.

Wasn't it only a few years ago that milk went sour the day of or the day after the expiration date? So what are they doing different to our milk that even the bacteria won't eat it any more? Are they now allowed to UHF treat the milk without telling us? I missed the memo that milk processing was changing. Does anyone know?

It might actually be they are processing it less if it is organic.
I know personally when we milk our cows the milk lasts 3x's as long as the milk we purchase in the store. We do not pasturize it we just store it in a milk jug until we use it all up, and we have had milk in the fridge for 2 weeks.

The milk we purchase in the store is just regular 1% milk and it rarely lasts past the expiration date.

That would be good if that's the reason. I hope it is. We got milk from a neighbor when I was a kid, and it didn't seem to go bad, but we also drank it up pretty quick, sometimes a quart a day. I wonder if the active enzymes fight off the bacteria? Although the organic milk would have to be pasteurized, killing the enzymes.

I like to invite people on this forum who are concerned about the milk to Google and read the Canadian Quality Milk program. Also, Google Alberta Milk and learn about the regulations. Also, please be aware that the use of BST (bovine somatotropine) isn't allowed in Canada!

wyandotte wrote:I like to invite people on this forum who are concerned about the milk to Google and read the Canadian Quality Milk program. Also, Google Alberta Milk and learn about the regulations. Also, please be aware that the use of BST (bovine somatotropine) isn't allowed in Canada!

My concern was why it appeared that all of a sudden my milk was lasting much longer than normal, but I may have found an answer.

Sometimes you have to give google the right question, after searching with various word combinations, I found this, and it appears Organic milk may be UHT treated, but not labelled as such and sold in the regular milk section. But this is an american journal, so i will see if I can find something that is Canadian that correlates to this. But this would be good for people heading out camping in the states, buy the organic milk as it will last longer. And it's disappointing to me as I don't want UHT milk, I believe that most of the good stuff is killed in the process, and apparently the bacteria agree. I'm going to do the same test on the Goats Milk I just bought...see how long it lasts, though it might not last long enough as I really like goats milk. If this is true, this should be labelled as such, the consumer should be told what processes are used. UHT is beyond pasturization. I am going to write Dairyland directly and ask them.

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I think you might be right about more milk being UHT treated. We purchased a dairy goat a few months ago so no longer purchase milk. Just before we bought our goat I did some research on milk and it seems that higher temperatures are being used much more commonly in both US and Canada in recent years. At the time we tried making cheese from purchased milk and it failed, it would not form large curds just tiny ones. Even though the jug didn't say so that indicates high temperature processing. Making cheese using the same process from our own goats milk the cheese has turned out great.

poplar girl wrote:I think you might be right about more milk being UHT treated. We purchased a dairy goat a few months ago so no longer purchase milk. Just before we bought our goat I did some research on milk and it seems that higher temperatures are being used much more commonly in both US and Canada in recent years. At the time we tried making cheese from purchased milk and it failed, it would not form large curds just tiny ones. Even though the jug didn't say so that indicates high temperature processing. Making cheese using the same process from our own goats milk the cheese has turned out great.

A big part of my own desire to have milking sheep has been my own challenges in finding decent cheeses lately without added crap. I did make cheese with the goat's milk from the store and it turned out good, but it's so expensive to do it that way. I am so looking forward to making sheeps cheese, I love it.

We did find some unpasteurized cheese in SuperStore. It is a PC product and does not have any modified milk ingredients, etc. in it, which is now most often what cheese in the store is made of. The modified milk ingredients is imported and is and is full of nasty stuff (sugar, non-dairy oils, etc...very often no dairy involved). When I am not making cheese, this PC unpasteurized cheese is what we buy. The only problem is that there is only cheddar...old, med., mild, and marble.

niglefritz wrote:We did find some unpasteurized cheese in SuperStore. It is a PC product and does not have any modified milk ingredients, etc. in it, which is now most often what cheese in the store is made of. The modified milk ingredients is imported and is and is full of nasty stuff (sugar, non-dairy oils, etc...very often no dairy involved). When I am not making cheese, this PC unpasteurized cheese is what we buy. The only problem is that there is only cheddar...old, med., mild, and marble.

That's too bad that there's only cheddar, I can't eat cheddar anymore unless its white because of the dyes in it.

Is it artificial dyes that you need to avoid, or all of them? Most cheeses (I won't say all...that tartrazine/yellow #5 gets into everything it seems) are dyed with annatto, a naturally sourced dye. We just checked our ingredient list of this cheese, and it says annatto. Of course, if we make cheese ourselves, it is always dye-free.

islandgal99 wrote:A big part of my own desire to have milking sheep has been my own challenges in finding decent cheeses lately without added crap.  I did make cheese with the goat's milk from the store and it turned out good, but it's so expensive to do it that way.  I am so looking forward to making sheeps cheese, I love it.  

We have a local sheep cheesiry. Haven't tried their product yet, but I will! [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I have found that organic milk almost always lasts past the exp. date whereas regular milk goes off almost immediately.

niglefritz wrote:Is it artificial dyes that you need to avoid, or all of them? Most cheeses (I won't say all...that tartrazine/yellow #5 gets into everything it seems) are dyed with annatto, a naturally sourced dye. We just checked our ingredient list of this cheese, and it says annatto. Of course, if we make cheese ourselves, it is always dye-free.

Glad to hear its not tartrazine, thanks for looking. Yes, I need to avoid tartrazine like I need to avoid gluten...gut wrenching stomach ache and almost instant headache that often develops into a migraine. And it's amazing what they sneak tartrazine into, it should be banned like it is in Europe. Evil consequences on my body.

OK..first the disclaimer: this happened maybe a year ago, and so my recollection of the actual facts may be slightly skewed
but, we bought some "milk to go" one day because it was sold in a small quantity and i didn't need much. (I usually only by organic milk products)..
i used the milk and it sat in the fridge for some time...a long time....
when i went to use a little more milk for something else i looked at this container and thought ahh i have missed this and it will be time to toss...BUT NO!..it wasn't. the best before date was some 6 months later!
it shocked the *@^# out of me and i have not bought that kind of milk again. I often find that the milk goes bad before the due date..which is disappointing, but comforting at the same time

Diaryland never did respond to my request if their organic milk was UHT treated, so I'll take that as a yes. I would rather purchase regular milk that is not UHT treated than organic milk that is. If the milk isn't good enough for bacteria to grow in, then why would it be good for us. I think the UHT treatment kills all the enzymes and goodness in milk. And I think our regular dairy milk is pretty decent, compared to our neighbors down south.

I also contacted Avalon dairy, and they did get back to me, and their organic milk is not UHT treated.

Some bottles, I've noticed, no longer even say Pasteurized on them, I've seen this on several brands. UHT PST is practically everywhere now, and I avoid it like the plague as I've read it can be incredibly detrimental and, really, has little nutritional value left within that the body is able to absorb.

From UHT Canada's website:
"U.H.T. milk (Ultra High Temperature) also known as shelf stable milk. UHT milk is a product that Canadian suppliers offer as a substitute for fresh milk. It does not need refrigeration until after it is opened. The expiry date is usually good for between 6 and 9 months unopened and 20 days in the the refrigerator after opened. Milk suppliers accomplish the long shelf life by ultra pasteurizing the milk to a temperature of 135°C for few seconds, eliminating much more bacteria than the normal method of around 72°C for 16-20 seconds. Aseptic containers assist in supporting the long shelf life."

Anything milk that can sit on a shelf for MONTHS without refridgeration, I am not okay with. Just me

Another quote about labeling:

"U.H.T. milk can be found in most Canadian supermarkets. It is usually located in the bakery isle near the milk powder. It could also be labeled dairy beverage, milkshake or other diary product name, depending what has been added or deleted to the basic milk source."