Is Long Life Milk Good For Health?

Do you know what long-life milk is? Is it possible to store it outside for longer than fresh milk? As the name suggests long-life milk lasts longer outside a refrigerator or cooled environment. The only difference between fresh milk and long-life milk is the method of processing although the essential nutrition and benefits are the same as the other. You might have heard that long-life milk is often referred to as "Ultra heat treatment" milk. It is called UHT because long-life milk is heated in high temperatures and this increased temperature helps it to reduce bacteria and enzymes.

What is long life milk?

The term "long-life milk" is used to define milk that is treated in special ways to make it last longer without a refrigerator. Long-life milk has the same benefit as fresh milk because it contains the same essential nutrients.

Long-life milk can be used for cooking just like normal milk but you have an added advantage - the milk is already at room temperature, and is easier for the cooking process. The best thing about long-life milk is that it can be kept unopened for up to six months, thus you don’t have to visit the store in case you need milk urgently.

Why does long-life milk have a longer shelf life?

Long-life milk is processed by heating in high degree Celsius (double the temperature of pasteurized milk) for a few minutes and packaged to prevent heat-resistant enzymes and bacteria. This Ultra heat treatment gives it an extra shelf life even outside the refrigerator and cooler. It sustains to be fresh even in racks for months with the same nutritional benefits of pasteurized milk. The UHT process kills almost all the bacteria, harmful pathogens, and spores present in the milk and packaged in aseptic containers. This sterilization process keeps it healthy for long and long.

What makes it highly demanded?

As we discussed above the anti-bacterial sustenance and longer shelf life increases the demand for long-life milk in the market as well as demand among customers. Also, it is sweeter than pasteurized milk and whiter than the latter. But the one downside is that it is not possible to make cheese from heat-treated milk. This is because of the lack of working enzymes which highlights its purity.

What are the advantages of long-life milk?

One of the best advantages of long-life milk is its high quality. Apart from the benefits of nutrition and health it is processed by the destruction of microorganisms. As it is heated in 140c the time of processing is reduced to a few seconds. This minimal time of processing leads to its higher quality. It is possible to keep on the shelf for more than three months without tilting, which is unimaginable with pasteurized fresh milk.

Long-life milk can be stored up to six months outside the refrigerator. It can be packed in larger containers for sales or food service as its processing condition is independent of the container size. Long-life milk packaging is cheaper compared to pasteurized milk. The health benefits include anti-bacterial sustenance and free storage. Regular milk expires within about a week but long-life milk can last for long and less harmful to consume.

Al Ain Farms is the UAE's first dairy, poultry, camel milk and fresh juice company.