MILK
The main difference between these milks is their fat content:
- Full-cream (or full-fat) milk typically contains 3.4 g or more fat per 100 ml, of which 1.9 g is saturated fat.
- Medium-fat milk typically contains about 2 g of fat per 100 ml, of which 1.3 g is saturated.
- Fat-free milk contains less than 0.5 g fat per 100 ml of milk and only traces of saturated fat.
Milk with a lower fat content contains less energy and fat-soluble vitamins (vitamin A and E) than full-cream milk. All other nutrients are found at about the same concentrations across the different types.
This is milk that has been enriched with specific nutrients, such as folic acid, vitamin D, iron or protein. Fortification is often based on population insufficiencies and tailored for specific consumer categories, such as vitamin D fortified UHT milk.
Organic farming is a system of farming that avoids the use of soluble fertilisers, pesticides, feed additives and other chemicals. The nutritional composition of milk is largely related to the pasture on which cows graze and organic farming therefore makes a fairly small nutritional difference to milk. Organic milk usually contains higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, although the absolute amount is still quite low. Therefore, this may have little effect in the context of an individual’s overall diet. Organic milk also contains about a third less iodine than regular milk. Iodine is important for cognitive function and is therefore particularly important for pregnant women.
Defined in terms of national health legislation, raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurised or sterilised or undergone ultra-high temperature treatment. Drinking raw milk is generally considered risky as it may contain harmful bacteria not normally associated with pasteurised milk. The general convention is that while the milk is in the production system of a healthy cow it is considered to be virtually sterile, but comes into contact with various microorganism as soon as it is secreted, or when the animal is sick.
Ideally all babies should drink the milk of their own species and this is why breastfeeding is the best choice. Most mammals discontinue drinking milk once they have been weaned onto solid foods. However, infant nutrition is a specialised area and separate from general healthy eating guidelines. Cow’s milk is recognised as a nutritious food to be included after the age of 1 year. In general, humans consume the milk of other species in the same way they consume other animal products such as meat or eggs because they all provide important nutrients. As humans advanced, they recognised the benefits of dairy consumption. This contributed to the practice of dairy farming.
Milk can be frozen in a household freezer, which is usually set at –18 °C, for approximately six weeks without the nutritional value or flavour of the product changing. Upon thawing, the texture of the milk may be slightly different from what it was before freezing.
Milk is composed of a single, natural ingredient – milk! Although milk is pasteurised for food safety purposes, no colours, preservatives, sweeteners or flavours are used.