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Friday, May 13, 2011

Organic Milk - What's With the Expiration Date?

Why does organic milk last so long? Shouldn't it expire sooner because it doesn't have any weird preservatives in it? I purchased some Organic Valley brand milk the other day and the expiration date was month and a half way. I took a look at some non-organic A&E Dairy milk and it expired a week later? Does anyone know the answer to this one? Well, according to Scientific American, here's why:

Organic milk lasts longer because producers use a different process to preserve it. According to the Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, the milk needs to stay fresh longer because organic products often have to travel farther to reach store shelves since it is not produced throughout the country.

The process that gives the milk a longer shelf life is called ultrahigh temperature (UHT) processing or treatment, in which milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit (138 degrees Celsius) for two to four seconds, killing any bacteria in it.

Read the whole explanation here.

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