June 7: UHT Milk

My wife bought this 4-pack of Organic Valley chocolate milk for the kids; specifically, for my daughter to take to school as part of her lunch this final week of school since the cafeteria is closed down. My wife, however, was concerned about the fact that she found the milk on a store shelf, not in the dairy case. We, of course, immediately put it into the fridge upon returning home, but my curiosity over this non-refrigerated milk wouldn't go away. So, I did what any responsible parent would do when looking for answers about their child's best interest...I turned to the Internet. My research started with the Organic Valley website. I found this information, which identifies the UHT pasteurization process used by the company, as well as their aseptic packaging process - both which apparently contribute to the milk's unique superpower of not requiring refrigeration. Aseptic Packaging/Processing, I discovered, "locks out the 'bad' (light, air, bacteria) and locks in the 'good' (nutrients, amino acids, isoflavones, flavor). I also learned that in 1996, the aseptic package received the Presidential Award for Sustainable Development, the only package ever to receive this coveted environmental prize. The recognition was give by none other than former Vice-President, Al Gore (apparently in between his time invested in discovering the Internet). As for UHT Pasteurization (UHT being Ultra-High-Temperature), I learned that the process involves raising the temperature of the milk to about 285 degrees F (141 degrees C) for one or two seconds, thus sterilizing the milk. Thereafter, the milk is cooled to 7 C or lower resulting in the product having a better keeping quality and a longer shelf life. I can't say that I fully understand what all of this means, but I am slightly more confident that allowing my kids to drink "milk on a shelf" isn't necessarily a bad thing; regardless of how weird I still think the whole concept is.