Milk

[Pug205Tim]

Originally Posted by Ramrod

Milk is for baby cows......and even they stop drinking it after a point. imo it's sh*t that we aren't meant to consume. We don't really need it and it's importance has been overstated for decades by parties with vested interests in it's continuing mass consumption.
...................but I am a little biased

Ideal to add mass for weightlifting though, especialy in this heat when you cant be bothered to eat much.

All milk sold by retailers in the UK must be pasteurised, which as a minimum heats the milk to 72°C for at least 15 seconds. This is designed to destroy nasty bacteria, like Salmonella, and reduce the number of less harmful bugs, which would make the milk 'go off'.

Provided the milk is cooled quickly to less than 5°C & stored at that temperature , it 'should' last at least 10 days.

The pasteurisation process is highly automated, and is designed so that any milk which hasn't achieved the correct temperature, is re-processed, by being sent back via an automatic 'diverter valve'. The process also employs a manual enzyme check to verify the process, on a regular basis.

What I mean to say is, that it is extremely unlikely any UK produced milk is compromised in any way during initial processing .However, subsequent storage & handling are vital to maintain the shelf life - there are still bacteria present, which will multiply if they get warm enough, & anything over 5°C is sufficient for this to happen.

So, if a particular retail outlet consistently sells milk that spoils before the 'sell by' date, then it is likely they are failing to store it properly, and you should avoid buying any from there.

One moan here - why don't fridges have thermometers, or thermostats that have °C on them, not meaningless numbers, I bet many people have inadvertently been running their fridges nearer 10°C than 5°C, during the recent heatwave....

<edit> to acknowledge there are other legal methods for increasing shelf life of milk, but pasteurisation is still the most common.

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

never had a problem, generally its fine 3-4 days after its use by date

[spiderplant]

Try Cravendale Purfiltre (or Tesco's cheaper copy). Lasts ages and tastes just like the real thing.

[Taf]

Originally Posted by Cobbydaler

Don't buy cartons, they don't reseal...

We use Lidl cartons that DO reseal......

---------- Post added at 19:43 ---------- Previous post was at 19:40 ----------

Originally Posted by homealone

One moan here - why don't fridges have thermometers, or thermostats that have °C on them, not meaningless numbers, I bet many people have inadvertently been running their fridges nearer 10°C than 5°C, during the recent heatwave....

It's an odd thing, but the thermostat in a fridge or freezer isn't a thermostat really, so marking in celsius would be pointless. Location and external temperature can make a fridge on the same numerical setting internal temperature vary widely IMHO

Originally Posted by Taf

It's an odd thing, but the thermostat in a fridge or freezer isn't a thermostat really, so marking in celsius would be pointless. Location and external temperature can make a fridge on the same numerical setting internal temperature vary widely IMHO

Thinking about it, you are right, otherwise you wouldn't have to turn it up when the weather gets hotter - but they could fit a thermometer in the fridge, as standard, couldn't they?

/gets back from putting thermometer in fridge - will check it later ...

I've gone back to the milkman...Well he came back to me..This one says they start the round at midnight not 5 in the morning so I WILL get my milk before 8 in the morning and they deliver the plactic containers instead of the glass bottles about twice a week.

actually it's a good time to start as our local post office is closing and they are the nearest supplier of milk at present.This means the elderly around me would have been stuck with having to walk even further to get supplied.Now they won't.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Pug205Tim

Ideal to add mass for weightlifting though, especialy in this heat when you cant be bothered to eat much.

What? You hang a few pints off each end of the bar?

[Wicked_and_Crazy]

Originally Posted by Incognitas

I've gone back to the milkman...Well he came back to me..This one says they start the round at midnight not 5 in the morning so I WILL get my milk before 8 in the morning and they deliver the plactic containers instead of the glass bottles about twice a week.

actually it's a good time to start as our local post office is closing and they are the nearest supplier of milk at present.This means the elderly around me would have been stuck with having to walk even further to get supplied.Now they won't.

is it Dairy Crest?? Theyve just restarted in our area

[Graham M]

The Use By Date is the date that it lasts til IF it remains sealed, of course, as soon as you let air in it will start to go off, hence why it goes off before the date. You'll probably find the bottle/carton says something like "Once Opened, Consume within 3 days"

[Jules]

I wish the milk in our house would last long enough to go off, we go through gallons of the stuff!

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by homealone

Thinking about it, you are right, otherwise you wouldn't have to turn it up when the weather gets hotter - but they could fit a thermometer in the fridge, as standard, couldn't they?

/gets back from putting thermometer in fridge - will check it later ...

My fridge has LED's (in Celcus) on the top that you set and it keeps the fridge at that temprature - it is possible.

Edit - not that I'm bothered, I drink soya or rice milk - keeps forever.

A bonus is no cows are harmed in the production of it - not a link for those that want to keep drinknig milk, especially the milk replacement section. Yuck.

Originally Posted by Zeph

The Use By Date is the date that it lasts til IF it remains sealed, of course, as soon as you let air in it will start to go off, hence why it goes off before the date. You'll probably find the bottle/carton says something like "Once Opened, Consume within 3 days"

I'm not sure about that, Zeph, the main spoilage bacteria that is in milk can multiply without oxygen, for a while

Those 'warnings' are increasingly designed to avoid litigation, rather than provide real information, in my opinion

---------- Post added at 22:10 ---------- Previous post was at 22:07 ----------

Originally Posted by Shaun

My fridge has LED's (in Celcus) on the top that you set and it keeps the fridge at that temprature - it is possible.

true - but not standard

- my fridge is running at +4°C

[Cobbydaler]

Originally Posted by homealone

Those 'warnings' are increasingly designed to avoid litigation, rather than provide real information, in my opinion

Too true!! Well said!!

[Graham M]

Yep I somewhat agree with that Home