Many people heard the term "pasteurized milk" and "homogenized milk" before, but are there any differences between these two kinds of milk? The answer is "yes". When it comes to milk, it's necessary to understand our food and knowing exactly how it gets to our table. With the amount of dairy we’ve consumed in our lifetime, we believe it’s high time we all understood what goes into our milk. In this article we will discuss the difference between pasteurized milk and homogenized milk.
Pasteurization is the process to eliminate certain bacteria wit pasteurisation equipment by heating milk up and then quickly cooling it down. For effective pasteurization, milk can be heated up to 145 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes, but this is not a common method. More common is High-temperature Short-Time (HTST) pasteurization or flash pasteurization, which means heating milk up to at least 161.6 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 seconds. This method will prolong the shelf-time of milk to 2-3 weeks. You may also have heard UHT-Milk(Ultra-Heat Treatment Milk), in this situation milk is heated to 280 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of two seconds with UHT milk processing line. This processing results in a shelf life that can extend up to nine months. Milk treated with pasteurization or HTST is labeled as “pasteurized,” while milk treated with UHT is labeled as “ultra-pasteurized.”Pasteurization does not kill all micro-organisms in milk, but is intended to kill some bacteria and make some enzymes inactive. While raw milk activists claim otherwise, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “pasteurization does not reduce milk’s nutritional value.” While the CDC acknowledges that pasteurization inactivates certain enzymes and reduces certain vitamins like Vitamin C, it argues that “milk is not a major source of Vitamin C” in the U.S. diet.
But there are also many people who support unpasteurized milk. Raw milk enthusiasts tout Vitamin C as a benefit of unpasteurized milk, they think unpasteurized milk is more nutritious and contains no additives. The FDA and CDC warn against the dangers of unpasteurized milk and it is illegal to sell it directly to consumers. Other states allow the sale of unpasteurized milk, but could have strict laws for distributing the item across states lines.
Homogenization is an entirely separate process that occurs after pasteurization in most cases. The purpose of homogenization is to break down fat molecules in milk so that they resist separation. Without homogenization, fat molecules in milk will rise to the top and form a layer of cream. Homogenizing milk prevents this separation from occurring by breaking the molecules down to such a small size that they remain suspended evenly throughout the milk instead of rising to the top.
Homogenization is a mechanical process and doesn’t involved any additives. Like pasteurization, arguments exist for and against it. It’s advantageous for large-scale dairy farms to homogenize milk because the process allows them to mix milk from different herds without issue. By preventing cream from rising to the top, homogenization also leads to a longer shelf life of milk that will be most attractive to consumers who favor milk without the cream layer. This allows large farms to ship greater distances and do business with more retailers. Finally, homogenization makes it easier for dairies to filtrate out the fat and create two percent, one percent and skim milk. WiseGeek explains that while it is also possible to achieve these different fat contents by skimming cream from the top, homogenization makes the process more precise. Some people worry, however, that by reducing the size of fat molecules, homogenization makes fat easier to absorb. Studies remain inconclusive on that matter, however.
After reading introduction about pasteurized milk and homogenized milk it seems clear when you stand in front of the milk showcase in the supermarket. If you are a milk producer, it may help you choose professional equipment if you want to process raw milk. Choosing right pasteurizer or UHT milk production line, or homogenizer is an important step for your business.
