How much do you know about milk sterilization

The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)" places special emphasis on milk intake, and compared with the old version, the recommended amount of milk and dairy products has increased from 300 grams per day to 300 grams to 500 grams
.
It can be seen that milk and dairy products play an increasingly important role
in integrated diets.

Milk is one of the natural dairy products, people drink milk, on the one hand, can meet the body's needs for protein, energy, vitamins, minerals, on the other hand, it is also to obtain certain trace milk components
that are beneficial to growth and development, intestinal health.
Because raw milk contains potentially pathogenic microorganisms, in order for people to drink milk safely, it is necessary to heat the raw milk to a certain extent before drinking to achieve the purpose of
sterilization.

At present, common milk is generally divided into pasteurization method and ultra-high temperature instant sterilization method according to different heat treatment methods
.
The pasteurization method is 72 °C-78 °C, heated for at least 15 seconds; UHT UHT is a temperature above 135 °C and a heating time of not less than 2 seconds
.
In the face of a variety of supermarket shelves, which quality of milk is the most nutritious, safe and reliable, which is naturally the most concerned issue for consumers
.

After pasteurization, liquid fresh milk kills most of the pathogenic microorganisms, and then needs to be stored and transported in the cold chain, and the shelf life is relatively short, ranging from
3 to 15 days.
This method maintains some of the active protein components of the milk but has a shorter
shelf life.
In order to overcome the problems of short shelf life, inability to store at room temperature, and inconvenient transportation and carrying, UHT milk came into being
.
The heat treatment process uses an instantaneous ultra-high temperature method to kill almost all microorganisms and their spores in raw milk, thus achieving a "sterile" level
.
Therefore, the shelf life of UHT milk can be extended to 1-6 months, which can be stored at room temperature, and has the advantages
of easy to carry and long-distance transportation.

Consumers can choose pure milk
according to their actual storage conditions and eating habits.
If you choose milk that needs to be refrigerated, you must pay attention to the storage conditions
.
Once you find that the milk has become thin, bloated, flocculated, etc.
, do not eat it
again.

At present, the consumption of dairy products in China has increased
significantly.
However, most of China's milk sources are concentrated in the northern region, and the milk source of pasteurized milk generally comes from dairy farms around the city, considering the practical problem of short shelf life of pasteurized milk, dairy companies aim at business opportunities and begin to vigorously develop UHT milk, and sell milk based on the northern milk source base to all parts of the country
.

In recent years, after many efforts, China's dairy cow intensive breeding and fresh milk quality have made great progress
.

Any process strives to find the best balance between retaining milk nutrients and sterilization
.
UHT milk has a long shelf life, is easy to store and carry, and does not have excessive requirements for storage conditions, which is convenient at the cost of losing some of the active protein ingredients and taste
.
Pasteurized milk maximizes freshness and active protein, but is stored under conditions that must be refrigerated and has a shorter
shelf life.
The difference between these two sterilization methods requires consumers to choose
rationally according to their own needs.
(Edited by Li Chuang)