How is whole milk produced?

How is whole milk produced step by step?

1. Milking. Dairy cows are milked, usually by machine. The milk goes straight into a closed system to keep it clean.
2. Cooling. Milk is chilled quickly and kept cold on the farm in a bulk tank until collection. Cold storage slows bacterial growth.
3. Collection and testing. A refrigerated tanker takes the milk to the dairy plant, where samples are tested for quality, and milk that fails is rejected.
4. Standardizing. A separator can split milk into cream and skim milk, and cream is added back to reach a set fat level. This is how the different milk types, whole, 2%, 1% and skim, are made consistent.
5. Pasteurization. Milk is heated, then cooled, to kill disease-causing germs. Ultra-pasteurized milk is heated hotter than regular pasteurized milk and lasts longer unopened. The FDA says pasteurization has minimal impact on milk’s nutritional quality.
6. Homogenization. Milk is forced through tiny openings under pressure to break fat into very small droplets, so the cream does not rise to the top.
7. Packaging. Milk is filled into cartons or jugs and kept refrigerated until sold. Vitamins A and D may be added.

What counts as whole milk in the US?

Under 21 CFR 131.110, milk must contain at least 3.25% milkfat and at least 8.25% milk solids-not-fat. It must be pasteurized or ultra-pasteurized when packaged, and it may be homogenized. Adding vitamins is optional; if vitamin A is added it must be at least 2,000 IU per quart, and if vitamin D is added, 400 IU per quart. Reduced-fat milks have their own definitions.

Why does this matter when you buy it?

• Check the label for pasteurized, and for the use-by date.
• Whole milk is not the same as raw milk. The CDC and FDA warn that raw milk can carry harmful germs.
• Ultra-pasteurized milk has a longer shelf life unopened, but refrigerate it after opening.

General overview; processes differ by plant and country.