Re-pasteurized milk

[snopes]

Comment:
Got a rumor that unsold milk is returned to the milk bottler to be
re-pasturized, re-packaged, and, eventually resold. The rumor goes on to
say that the number of re-pasturizatiions is included in the use-buy date
info stamped on the carton. I think this rumor is nuts, but what do they
do with unsold milk?

I don't know about other places, but when I worked in the dairy section of a Wal-mart Supercenter, if the milk was on or after it's sell by date, we had to dump the product down the drain and we returned the cartons/jugs (whatever you call them...too early in the morning for me) for credit from the suppliers.

And trust me, I once spent almost an entire night in the back cooler doing just this. And some of what I dumped was very obviously past its sell by date.

[Seburiel]

Ah-HA!
but aren't you leaving out the critical detail that the drain actually led to a giant milk tank where it was re-pasteurized to be subsequently rebottled and sold?


ah.. ok

[snopes]

Comment: Is chocolate milk made from repasturized expired white milk?

I've heard that chocolate milk is made from expired white milk that is
returned from store shelves to a dairy, repasturized, chocolate added,
then shipped to stores again.

[diddy]

I have worked in the dairy section of a grocery before (Cold work). I can tell you for a fact that anything unsold and expired is returned to the manufacturer/distributor. It would be a pretty bad health violation to re-sell expired product.

According to wiki:

Chocolate milk is a sweetened, cold, cocoa-flavored milk drink. It can be purchased pre-mixed or made at home with either cocoa powder and a sweetener (such as sugar or an artificial brand, such as Splenda), or with melted chocolate, chocolate syrup, or chocolate milk mix. Other ingredients, such as starch, salt, carrageenan, vanilla, or artificial flavoring may be added. Chocolate milk should be refrigerated like plain milk. A solution is required to blend in the two flavors (milk and chocolate, hence the name of the mixed drink). When chocolate milk begins to spoil, it gives off a coffee-like odor, unlike plain milk.

So the answer is no. Chocolate milk is pretty much Chocolate and milk, plus sweetening (amongst other things). The milk is as fresh as the plain stuff and comes from the same sources.

[snopes]

Originally Posted by diddy

I have worked in the dairy section of a grocery before (Cold work). I can tell you for a fact that anything unsold and expired is returned to the manufacturer/distributor. It would be a pretty bad health violation to re-sell expired product.

But nobody's claiming that the stores themselves turn expired milk into chocolate milk -- the claim is that the "dairy" repasteurizes the store returns, adds chocolate flavoring, and re-ships them to stores.

[Judecat]

Isn't Pasteurized milk just milk that has been sterilized -- usually with heat? So how would sterilizing spoiled milk turn it fresh again?

[diddy]

Originally Posted by snopes

But nobody's claiming that the stores themselves turn expired milk into chocolate milk -- the claim is that the "dairy" repasteurizes the store returns, adds chocolate flavoring, and re-ships them to stores.

I apologize, I had a bit of a flashback - we disposed of spoiled dairy - we did not return the full product to the distributor.

Thus, the story is just false - we had to dispose it.

[Horse Chestnut]

I wonder if this story sprang from the reports of egg farms repackaging old eggs in new cartons for resell? http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6833067.shtml Perhaps people read these reports and either confused the facts, or thought if they were doing this with eggs, they might also be doing this with other farm products?

[Der Induktionator]

Pasturizing milk that has turned into curds isn't going to make it liquid again, but maybe homogenizing might.

[crescent]

Originally Posted by diddy

I apologize, I had a bit of a flashback - we disposed of spoiled dairy - we did not return the full product to the distributor.

Thus, the story is just false - we had to dispose it.

When I worked in the restaurant industry (15+) years ago, the distributors did reclaim expired unopened product.

We assumed it was used to make other milk products (like cheese), or pet food, or something.

[overyonder]

You can't take the sour taste out of expired milk, no matter how many times you pasteurize it! \\

OY

[ReedEnwright]

I'm the Dairy/Frozen Food manager at a supermarket and we just dump a majority of expired milk in the dumpster. What we don't dump ourselves (vendor milk) is taken back and disposed of elsewhere. The idea that it's reused in any way seems absurd as it wouldn't seem to be worth the time and effort to do so. I'm not saying it's never been done, but it certainly isn't being done anywhere that I'm aware of.

[KirkMcD]

Originally Posted by overyonder

You can't take the sour taste out of expired milk, no matter how many times you pasteurize it!

But isn't that how they make sour cream and yogurt?

I got it.