I noticed today that the milk in my grocery store labeled “organic milk” has a much longer shelf life than the “regular” milk I usually buy. I mean like two or three weeks longer. Anybody know why this kind of milk is supposed to last longer?
Because of the lack of controls in organic farming, organic milk actually has an inherently shorter expiration date. To maintain a shelf life longer than a few days, organic milk must be ultra-high temperature pasteurized (UHT). This results in a longer shelf life than milk has when it’s been pasteurized at the usual temperature, even though that milk was of higher quality to begin with.
So how come some genius hasn’t started selling UHT pasteurized “regular” milk? If it were about the same price, I’d buy that, since I’m always checking the expiration dates.
I believe that UHT processing is somewhat more expensive that ordinary pasteurization even with the economy of scale that would be produced by greater usage. Some people also claim to detect a difference in taste in UHT milk. (see http://www.fst.uq.edu.au/enzyme.htm or http://www.moomilk.com/archive/feature_48.htm)
UHT is also used for lactose-reduced refrigerated milks and for shelf-stable boxed milks all over the world.
Here’s more on Ultrapasteurized, Organic Milk.
The milk sold in some fast food places is ultrapasteurized. Also, I bought a pint in a 7-11 type store that was.
Peace,
mangeorge
A report from the field:
Sunday night I bought a milk (not organic) at Wendy’s.
Ultra-pasteurized, best used by date, MAR 3 03.
That sucks. I don’t know why, but it does.
Peace,
mangeorge
“Lack of controls in organic farming”?:smack:???:smack:!!!
The USDA National Organic Program is a nearly 700-page federal rule which regulates “organic” food. Twenty-three pages of the rule are devoted to the definition of "organic,” making it one of the most thoroughly defined words in the English language. Organic farmers must satisfy explicit criteria dealing with animal health, cleanliness, and manure handling. Organic milk production has A LOT more oversight than conventional milk production.
The reason you have ultra-high temperature pasteurization in organic milk is that organic milk usually travels much farther before it reaches the customer. Organic Valley milk produced here in Wisconsin ends up in California, New Mexico, Florida, and New York. Ultra-high temperature pasteurization permits a longer shelf-life, assuring Organic Valley that they will get their money back on all their transport costs.
High-tech factory farming brought us the newer and more virulent strains of E. coli. Overcrowding and stress make factory-farm-raised animals more vulnerable to pathogens, and the fix for this has been to add enormous quantities of antibiotics to animal feed. This led to new strains of organisms that are resistant to antibiotics commonly used for human patients. Both the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association have issued calls for ending this practice.
California, leroy? Could very well be, but I think CA has pretty good share of organic dairies. Next time I’m in the store I’ll look. Now I’m curious.
We do have some excellent cheddar. And curds! Available by mail-order. 
Peace,
mangeorge
Organic Valley is on the shelves here in New York State.