Long-life milk is a type of pasteurised milk produced using a process which exposes it to ultra-high temperatures, hence it is also known as UHT milk. Bacteria in fresh milk leads to it spoiling over time, but the UHT process kills all this bacteria and therefore means long-life milk has a shelf-life of six to nine months without refrigeration and prior to opening. The UHT process doesn’t impact on the nutritional value of the milk and only slightly impacts on the taste, meaning it is still suitable for use in tea and coffee and for cooking and baking. Long-life milk has been very popular for a number of years now, but another benefit that is becoming increasingly prominent is how long-life milk delivers sustainable benefits also.
Milk has an undeniable carbon footprint as a result of agricultural processes involved in producing it, but the UHT process ultimately reduces this impact and brings a nett carbon benefit in terms of energy usage, waste processes and fuel usage.
How long-life milk reduces your carbon impact
- No need for cold storage – When we think about storing milk we immediately think about refrigeration, and in terms of production, transport and retail that is a significant energy burden. Ensuring that milk is fresh when it arrives in your kitchen requires considerable energy demands in warehouses, in transport and in retail stores. Long-life milk is sterilised by the UHT process and its packaging retains the milk in that state. This means it doesn’t require refrigeration until the end user opens it.
- No waste dairy products – Milk is used in various elements of everyday cooking and baking, as well as in associated dairy products. The extended shelf life of UHT milk means less product is wasted and thrown away, and hence this reduces the carbon impact of producing, transporting and storing more.
- Transport efficiency – The logistical challenges presented by long-life milk are much simpler, compared to fresh milk. Apart from the fact there is no need for chilled transport and chilled warehousing, shipments can be arranged in larger batch quantities, because we know that UHT milk won’t go off and can be stored for longer. The supply chain can ship long-life milk in bulk quantities to reduce costs per unit and reduce fuel usage and emissions considerably.
- Recycled packaging – It has not always been the case that the packaging used for long-life milk could be recycled, but today it can be. Tetra Paks are made of composite materials including a mix of paper, board, plastic and aluminium. Although they require specialist recycling processes, these materials can now be separated and recycled widely across the UK.
So long-life milk from Just Milk is making a firm stand in sustainability and will improve your carbon impact if you opt for it over fresh milk.