Should I buy pasteurized fresh milk or normal temperature UHT (ultra-high temperature instantaneous treatment, a sterilization process) milk? Some experts suggest drinking more pasteurized milk, The reason is that it preserves more nutrients, Moreover, milk with too high a total number of bacteria cannot be made into pasteurized milk. He also said that in the international market, Pasteurized milk accounts for more than 95% of the market share, but it is mainly warm milk in our country. Fang Zhouzi once refuted in Weibo that because warm milk does not need refrigeration, foreign countries promote warm milk for the purpose of environmental protection and low carbon. Public said public right, woman said woman right, at that time, consumers were dizzy and did not know who to listen to.
1. What is the difference between pasteurized milk and normal temperature milk?
Both pasteurized milk and warm milk involve heat treatment that kills bacteria by heating. Therefore, some heat-sensitive nutrients will be destroyed to some extent. However, due to the more severe heat treatment of warm milk, While killing more bacteria, it is inevitable to [sacrifice] relatively more nutrients, such as some vitamins and soluble proteins. In terms of nutrients and taste, pasteurized milk is indeed better than warm milk.
However, the nutritional sacrifice of warm milk, In return for convenience in preservation and low price. Not only does it not need to be preserved at 4 degrees Celsius like pasteurized milk, Moreover, the shelf life is much longer than that of pasteurized milk (normal temperature milk lasts for more than 90 days and pasteurized milk lasts for about 7 days). Because the longer shelf life and the storage and transportation process do not require refrigeration, normal temperature milk is usually slightly cheaper than pasteurized milk in price.
Some people say that milk with too high a total number of bacteria cannot be made into pasteurized milk. In fact, it is not absolutely, Only a slight increase in pasteurization temperature is required, Or extend the sterilization time by a few seconds, It is still possible to obtain [pasteurized milk] with bacteria index meeting the standard. Therefore, Whether it can be made into pasteurized milk cannot be the standard to measure the quality of raw milk. What’s more, some small enterprises may use UHT sterilized milk to pretend to be pasteurized milk for sale. Their logic is that ordinary consumers can’t taste the difference between the two anyway, as long as they can ensure that they don’t have diarrhea after drinking.
Do people all over the world drink pasteurized milk?
So, internationally, is it true that more than 95% of the market share is pasteurized milk? In fact, it is not. According to the data listed in the figure below, many countries on the European continent (including France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Portugal) except Greece have a larger market share of warm milk. However, Britain, Ireland, Denmark and the three northern European countries have a larger share of pasteurized milk.
In addition, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, The market is also dominated by pasteurized milk. The differences between these different countries, The main reason is the difference in food culture. For example, French warm milk accounts for 95.5% of milk consumption. It does not mean that the French [drink only] warm milk, In fact, the French usually eat cheese as the main dairy product, French families buy milk mainly for dessert-warm milk that does not need refrigeration and has a long shelf life is naturally the best choice. On the contrary, Countries in the higher latitudes of Europe, as well as countries such as the United States and Australia, have long had the habit of drinking milk and consume a large amount of milk, so pasteurized milk with good taste and more nutrition has become the best choice.
In addition, the climate also affects the distribution of pasteurized milk and normal temperature milk to a certain extent. The relatively rich and cold northern Europe is obviously more conducive to the storage, transportation and sale of pasteurized milk. In Spain and Portugal, The hot climate and relatively underdeveloped economy have become factors restricting the development of pasteurized milk. As for the promotion of warm milk abroad for the purpose of environmental protection and low carbon, it is also true: in 2008, the British government proposed to achieve the goal of 90% warm milk by 2020, but this plan has been abandoned due to strong opposition from dairy enterprises.
3. Where did the dispute over second wives come from?
Why is there such a big dispute in China since each has its own products? In fact, the root of the problem lies in China’s vast territory and the inconsistent distribution of milk sources and population. As we all know, China’s main milk sources are located near Inner Mongolia, while the population is mainly concentrated in the southeast coastal area. This has resulted in the division of China’s dairy enterprises into two camps: base-based and city-based.
Base-based dairy enterprises, Such as Mengniu, Yili, With abundant high-quality and low-price milk sources, However, the market is mainly in the remote coastal areas. Therefore, they mainly produce warm milk that is easy to store and transport. On the contrary, Urban dairy enterprises, For example, Guangming, Sanyuan, The surrounding milk source is relatively scarce, The production cost is relatively high, but its advantage is close to the urban consumer market, so they mainly produce pasteurized milk and compete with base dairy enterprises by promoting the freshness and nutrition of pasteurized milk. Recently, due to the increase of imported warm milk, some enterprises mainly based on pasteurized milk have targeted these imported warm milk again.
The uproar over the past few years over [the ban on fresh food], In fact, it is the performance of the wrestling between the two dairy enterprises. Because pasteurized milk has been competing with warm milk under the banner of [fresh milk], The “Guidelines for the Implementation of National Standards for Food Labeling” issued in 2004 prohibits processed foods from being called “fresh”. According to this “fresh ban order”, Pasteurized milk can no longer appear on the packaging [fresh milk], As a result, it has met with opposition from many urban dairy enterprises, The ban on fresh food was postponed until 2007. However, after only two years of implementation, it was lifted with the drafting and release of the latest < < dairy safety standards > > (including the new standard for raw milk that caused this controversy). In fact, good competition between enterprises can not only make the market more and more standardized, but also gain consumers’ trust in the whole industry. However, unfair competition that relies on fraud or random changes in standards will only break the promise to consumers and eventually hurt both.
4. Summary
In fact, pasteurized milk and normal temperature milk are originally different products for different consumer groups. Although there are slight differences in nutrition and taste, they are not very different. There is no need to deliberately raise pasteurized milk and belittle normal temperature milk to be useless. How to choose, in fact, should still depend on the needs of consumers themselves.
If you have a large refrigerator in your home and drink a glass of milk every day, you may as well choose pasteurized milk produced by the local dairy company. If you are a homesick, like to hoard a lot of food at home and want to drink milk from time to time, warm milk may be more suitable for you.