How safe is store bought milk? Purchased milk.

"Drink, children, milk - you will be healthy!" It was with this motto that many and many generations of children were brought up and grew up. That's just the times are changing, and the opportunities to drink the present homemade milk"only from under the cow" less and less. It is being replaced by store-bought, industrial milk. And it is far from always possible to say that it will be useful for your body.

If you take it right now and go to any store, to the dairy department, then in best case percent, ten packages will indicate what kind of milk the manufacturer poured into the container. And even then it is far from a fact that the truth will be written on the packaging. The most plausible would be the inscription: "Made from milk powder" or "With the addition of powdered milk." In other cases, it is generally not clear what is in the package.

The most surprising thing is that there are a lot of other inscriptions on the packages without indicating the composition, such as “fresh”, “high quality”, “unique”, “natural” and generally the best. In general, the main goal of manufacturers of such products is to sell their goods. They do not care what will happen to the people (children in particular) who will drink this milk.

Consider "usefulness" different types milk. The most unique and uncompetitive is natural, homemade milk. It does not undergo any industrial processing, it has its own fat content, inherent in the cow that gave it. In total, a glass of such milk will give a person about 13% hedgehog daily allowance protein, phosphorus -18%, vitamin B2 - 12%, vitamin B12 - 15%, potassium - 10%, and, of course, a quarter of the daily calcium intake. Incidentally, it is because high content calcium, nutritionists and advise to consume milk daily. Also, such milk will contain a fairly high proportion of magnesium, zinc, 35 mg of fatty acids, which are necessary for the human body.

The next type will be "whole" milk. As you know, it contains fairly large fat globules, it is they that give fresh milk such a special taste. So, the quantity and, so to speak, the quality of these balls from cow to cow is different. It is on them that the fat content of milk is determined. Manufacturers also need milk taken from different cows to have a certain level of fat content. To do this, as well as to ensure that dairy products are suitable for mass consumption, a homogenization procedure is performed. That is, the milk is stirred until a homogeneous, or rather homogeneously fatty mass. That is, as if passing fat balls through special millstones, grinding them to a homogeneous state. Milk that has undergone such processing will be called whole milk, since milk and fat, although reduced to a homogeneous mass, are still one. Such a product will have a natural percentage of liquid and will not be so inferior in quality to natural milk. Its taste will be slightly different, it will also lose the ability to create a creamy film on its surface, but nevertheless, it is this milk that is the most useful store-bought milk.

Below in the pyramid of utility is normalized milk. This is the name of milk that has undergone the following technological procedure - separation, that is, the separation of the original dairy product into fat mixture and liquid. This procedure is performed in order to control the level: added more fat and less liquid - received milk of increased (but fixed) fat content, added the very fraction of fat - received dietary milk. It is in this way that a fixed fat content is most often achieved - 1%, 2.8%, 3.2%, and so on.

Separately, it should be specified. There are several types of heat treatment, which differ in the presence of beneficial and harmful bacteria in the final product. After processing we get the following types milk: sterilized, pasteurized, ultra-pasteurized and baked. Sterilized milk is the safest, but it contains virtually no bacteria, neither good nor bad. Pasteurized is the most popular type of milk now, it is processed for only a few minutes at temperatures up to 100 degrees Celsius and contains practically no harmful bacteria, while beneficial bacteria are almost completely preserved. The main disadvantage of pasteurized milk is short term storage. UHT is a cross between pasteurized and sterile milk. What is baked milk I think everyone knows.

Those who like to drink milk should not refuse it, but if possible it is better to use the most natural and pasteurized milk at the lowest temperature. Also, you should never force a person to drink milk who does not want it. Since there is no desire, it means that the body does not need milk.

More on the topic:

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According to latest research, on average, each Russian consumes only 240 kg of dairy products per year. This is clearly not enough from a physiological point of view. The consumption rate is about 380 kg.

Drinking milk per capita in Russia accounts for about 30 liters, while in the EU countries - from 80 to 130 liters. Average consumption fermented milk drinks(kefir and others) in Russia - about 16 liters per person per year, which is 2-2.5 times less than in developed countries. Cheese Russians consume about 7 kg per year, while in Germany, Greece, France, Switzerland - more than 20 kg. Hence the main recommendation of Russian nutritionists is to drink more milk and fermented milk drinks, eat more curd and cheese.

In this article, our experts from the dairy industry told you why milk is so useful and how to choose the right one in the store.

Milk composition

Milk has a complex composition, which depends on many factors: the physiological state of the animal, breed, diet, season. The milk of animals of the same species (for example, cows) may have different values ​​in different animals.

In general, the composition of milk is quite complex. The product contains more than a hundred organic (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, enzymes, vitamins) and inorganic (water, mineral salts, gases) substances.

Milk proteins are the most valuable component milk. They are more complete than the proteins of meat and fish, and are digested faster. Protein is essential for the formation of new cells in the human body. Milk proteins are composed of three components: casein, albumin and globulin, which are dissolved in raw milk.

All milk proteins belong to the group of complete ones, i.e. those that contain all 20 amino acids. Among them - 8 essential amino acids, which cannot be synthesized in the human body and must be supplied with food. The absence of at least one of them entails metabolic disorders. Among the essential amino acids, three are especially important: methionine, lysine and tryptophan.

lactose - milk sugar. Is a stimulant nervous system and prophylactic for cardiovascular diseases.

Despite the use of lactose in medicinal purposes, in many people, lactose is not absorbed and causes disturbances in the work digestive system. These people lack or produce insufficient amounts of the enzyme lactase. The purpose of lactase is to break down lactose into its parts, glucose and galactose, which must then be adsorbed by the small intestine. With insufficient lactase function, lactose remains in the intestine in its original form, binds water and causes further digestive disorders.

As geneticists found out, humanity did not immediately learn to benefit from such unique product like milk. Milk tolerance appeared only with the spread of the lactose tolerance gene. This gene is known to have originated in Northern Europe about 5000 BC e., where it currently has the highest frequency. Good tolerance milk sugar gave the carriers of this gene an advantage in the fight for survival and allowed them to spread widely.

Violation of lactase synthesis is the cause of congenital milk intolerance in newborns. In some adults, lactase activity may decrease, and then dairy products will also be poorly digested. The reason for this is the disease digestive tract or prolonged abstinence from drinking milk. But these changes are not associated with age, but with the characteristics of the digestive system of an individual.

milk fat- a rich source of energy for the body. Fat is easily digestible. It is found in milk in the form of tiny fat globules. Milk fat is the most complete: it contains all currently known fatty acid, including irreplaceable ones, which are not synthesized by the body, but must be supplied with food. Milk fat is rich in vitamins A, D, E and K, which are almost absent in other animal fats.

Minerals - salts of calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, citric, phosphoric, hydrochloric and other acids. They are found in milk in an easily digestible form. Milk contains trace elements in small amounts: cobalt, copper, zinc, manganese, fluorine, bromine, iodine, arsenic, silicon, boron, vanadium, etc. Trace elements are necessary to restore blood, lymph, gastric and intestinal juice, sweat, saliva, tears etc. Without their participation, the activity of such important endocrine glands as the thyroid, genital, etc. would be impossible.

Vitamins. Milk contains fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) and water-soluble vitamins (groups B and ascorbic acid). Currently, over 30 vitamins are known to be found in milk. However, it is a significant source of only three of them:

• Vitamin A - retinol. Formed in the intestinal mucosa of animals from feed carotenes. daily requirement human in vitamin A - 1 mg. summer milk richer in this vitamin, unlike winter. Storing milk leads to a decrease in the content of vitamin A. This vitamin withstands heat well (up to 120 ° C) without air access. Destroyed by oxygen and light.
• Vitamin B1 is thiamine. The daily requirement for it is 2 mg. Decomposes in an alkaline environment.
• Vitamin B2 - riboflavin. The daily requirement is also 2 mg. Pasteurization of milk almost does not reduce the content of this vitamin.

Name of milk and fat content

The name of the milk that goes to the store for sale must indicate the degree of heat treatment (pasteurized, sterilized, ultra-pasteurized). The lower it is (the lowest temperature treatment is from 63 to 120 ° C in pasteurized), the shorter the shelf life of the product.

With which fat content to choose, each is determined independently: it depends on the preference of the consumer and the purpose of using milk.

Date of production (manufacturing) of the product and expiration date

This information is usually represented by two rows of numbers representing the day, month and year. For example: 05/11/11, production date, 05/26/11. expiration date (use before the specified date).

Pasteurized milk can be stored in a package at a temperature of about 4°C from 3 to 20 days. After opening the package, milk should be used within 24 hours.

Sterilized milk can have a shelf life of 45 days to 6-8 months.

UHT milk has a shelf life of 6 to 12 months.

NB! Don't buy products that expire the next day.

Integrity and cleanliness of packaging, placement in the store

Even slight damage to the packaging leads to spoilage of milk. Therefore, be sure to evaluate how the milk is packaged. Also, conscientious manufacturers put clearly readable information on the label and provide their phone numbers and contacts for feedback and possible complaints.

All dairy products (except for sterilized, powdered and condensed milk) should be on refrigerated shelves, and not stand on pallets in the hall.

NB! Milk purchased in the markets from private individuals, from flasks, cans or tanks, is subject to compulsory boiling.

Store shelves today are bursting with a variety of dairy products. And fatty, and fat-free, and in large bags, and in small cups. When buying milk, kefir or sour cream, we expect that we will receive, in addition to delicious product to the table, and also benefit for the body. But what do we really get with dairy products from the store?
Statistics show that all available cows do not produce even half of the milk put on store shelves. So what do we drink, thinking we drink milk and dairy products? The lack of raw materials and the desire to reduce production costs are forcing producers to use various additives. Milk is produced not on the basis of valuable and healthy milk fats, but on vegetable fats with various additives.

Vegetable fats are derived from palm and coconut oils. They differ from milk fats in that they have a melting point of 39 degrees, and in our body they do not melt, but remain in a solid state and are deposited on the walls of blood vessels.

Vegetable fats in dairy products increase fat content. It would be more logical to do this by adding cream, but then dairy products would become too expensive. Starch, flour, soda, salicylic or boric acid may also be present in milk. These additives increase the shelf life of milk.

How to determine if you bought under the guise natural product an incomprehensible mixture of flour, coconut oil and still not sure what? If in milk product a drop of vinegar or citric acid, then milk with additives will bubble, releasing carbon dioxide. The presence of starch can be determined by dropping iodine: fake milk will turn blue, and natural milk will turn yellow.

Some manufacturers add antibiotics to milk to save on sterilization. This is prohibited by law, but very often antibiotics in dairy products are detected during tests. Antibiotics can also get into milk from a recently treated cow. According to the regulations, if a cow was injected with antibiotics, then milk from it cannot be taken for 10 days, but who will comply with this norm?

Exit - one. Buy natural milk, which is obtained by milking a cow, and not by mixing different chemical substances. But milk from the market can also be of inadequate quality due to violation of storage rules. Milk remains sterile for up to an hour and a half after milking, and then microorganisms develop in it, their metabolic products, and they themselves can be hazardous to health.

So, why not give up milk altogether? No, just buying milk in the market is desirable from a friend, a trusted seller or directly from the hostess in the village. Don't buy bottled milk plastic bottles, it is very quickly saturated with harmful substances.

When buying milk in a store, read the label carefully. If it says " Whole milk”, which means that this is natural milk, and it has only undergone heat treatment. "Normalized milk" is also natural milk. Milk of different fat content comes to the plant from different farms, it is mixed, degreased or cream is added, the fat content is adjusted to a certain standard. "Reconstituted milk" is milk made from dry powder. in terms of calories and mineral composition it is no different from natural milk but when milk is dried it loses a lot valuable substances. And one more tip: when buying milk in a store, pay attention to the date of manufacture. Try to take packages from the depth of the rack, usually products with an expiring date are put forward.