Why Pasteurize Milk?
From the Cheesemaker & Laboratory Director of PT. Pasti Enak
I understand that certain flavour components and flavour precursors in milk can be damaged or lost during pasteurisation. I also recognise that cheeses made from raw milk often develop different and sometimes more complex flavours. Read on to learn why we pasteurize milk.
Did you know that milk inside a health udder is essentially sterile when first secreted?
Milk can however become quickly contaminated with bacteria during or after milking, or if the cow has udder infections such as mastitis.
So the microbes that are found in the milk used to make raw milk cheese are not coming from the animal, they are contaminants that enter the milk after milking.
Where exaclty do these microbes enter the milk, from a washed bucket, someones hands, a non sanitrary cooling tank, a hose, or from the air? I dont know and I personaly make the decision for all of my customers in that we dont want to take the chance that these microbes may be harmfull. So PT. Pasti Enak pasturizes all of the milk we use. My concern with non‑pasteurised milk is simple: dairy products are highly susceptible to bacterial growth, and some of these bacteria can cause serious illness or even be fatal. My responsibility is to produce high‑quality, gourmet artisan cheeses that are safe for every customer who enjoys them.
This scientific approach to cleanliness, production, and traceability allows us to create exceptionally pure gourmet products that make both us and our customers happy.
Key Points Behind Our Position
- Milk is a nutrient‑rich material and an ideal substrate for bacterial growth.
- Milk can easily become contaminated with harmful bacteria during the milking process.
- There are well‑documented issues with the current “Raw Milk 60‑Day Rule.”
- Consuming improperly produced dairy products can be dangerous or fatal.
- Customer health and safety must always come first.
Our views are based on scientific research conducted by experts in their respective fields. Below are just a few of the many scientific papers that support the points above. If you disagree with these conclusions, we respectfully ask that you direct your concerns to specialists in bacteriology and foodborne illness, as our expertise lies in dairy science.
Do our cheeses contain micooganisms
Yes they do. We utalize pure strains of bactiera, yeasts and molds to inoculate our milk, and the suface of our cheess so that the result delicious cheese. These microbs are some of the most importat parts in cheese produciton and we spend countless hours caring for our cultures and insuring they are healthy and pure. By adding these microbes into the production process on purpose we have full control of the microbiology of the cheesess we produce.
Selected Scientific References
Milk as a substrate for bacterial growth
- Survival and Growth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Unpasteurized and Pasteurized Milk
Guodong Wang, Tong Zhao, Michael P. Doyle
Journal of Food Protection, Vol. 60, No. 6, 1997
Milk contamination during milking
- Biofilm in milking equipment on a dairy farm as a potential source of bulk tank milk contamination with Listeria monocytogenes
- Latorre et al.
- Lactococcus spp., yeasts and Pseudomonas spp. on teats and udders of milking cows as potential sources of milk contamination
- Desmasures, W. Opportune, M. Guéguen
- The effect of udder preparation before milking and contamination from the milking plant on bacterial numbers in bulk milk of eight dairy herds
C.H. McKinnon, G.J. Rowlands, A.J. Bramley
Issues with the Raw Milk 60‑Day Rule
- Microbiological Risk Assessment of Raw Milk Cheese
Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 2009 - Survey of raw milk cheeses for microbiological quality and prevalence of foodborne pathogens
J.C. Brooks et al.
Risks of improperly produced dairy products
- Attribution of Foodborne Illnesses, Hospitalizations, and Deaths to Food Commodities by Using Outbreak Data, United States, 1998–2008