Milk and its Important

Choose Yours

Milk is a nutrient-rich food and drink that is available in many tasty and refreshing forms.

Raw Milk or Unpasteurized Milk
Raw milk, or unpasteurized milk, is illegal for sale in Canada because it can spread diseases such as salmonella and tuberculosis. All milk for sale is pasteurized. Pasteurization does not affect the nutritional quality of the milk.

Whole/Skim Milk
Whole (homo) milk contains at least 3.25% milk fat. When a portion of the milk’s fat is removed, it is called partly skimmed milk, such as 2% milk and 1% milk. Skim milk is virtually fat-free, with only about 0.1% fat. Other than the fat content, all these milks are equally nutritious.

Chocolate Milk
Chocolate milk has all the goodness of white milk with added flavour from cocoa and sugar. Store-bought ready-made chocolate milk contains no more sugar than unsweetened juice and no more caffeine than decaffeinated coffee.

Buttermilk
Buttermilk has a tangy flavour, a smooth rich body and most often contains 1% milk fat. A "culture" is added to give buttermilk its consistency and flavour.

Other Types of Milk
Sweetened condensed Milk is made by condensing milk to one-third of its original volume and then adding sugar. The result is a very sweet thickened product.
Evaporated Milk is made by evaporating 60% of the water from whole, 2% or skim milk. The high temperature needed to sterilize the milk causes a browning reaction to occur, giving this milk a slightly darker colour.
Powdered Milk (whole or skim) is made from partly evaporated milk which is heated and dried instantly. Once the package is opened, it should be used within two months.
UHT Milk (ultra-high-temperature milk) or sterilized milk has been heat-treated for one to two seconds at 138-158°C. Unopened, it keeps for three months. Once opened, UHT milk will keep fresh as long as regular milk and should be refrigerated.
Lacteeze and LactAid 2% and skim milks contain the same nutrients as regular milk. Most of the milk sugar, called lactose, has been broken down into two sugars that are easily tolerated by those people with lactose intolerance.
Fortified milks can help consumers to meet their calcium requirements and give lower-fat choices a creamier taste. This creamier taste comes from adding milk solids such as calcium, phosphorus, carbohydrate and protein to lower-fat milks. While regular milk is a tasty and nutritious choice, calcium-fortified milks and creamier tasting lower-fat milks offer new benefits and options for consumers. Take a closer look at your expanding dairy case and read labels to determine each product’s unique benefits and nutritional content. Fortified milks are labelled as Milk Beverages. All milks, whether filtered or not, are safe and nutritious foods. Unopened, filtered milks will last up to 30 days in the fridge versus the regular 16 to 20 days. Once opened however, these milks will stay fresh as long as regular milk. Some filtered milks are marketed based on taste.
Organic milk comes from cows that are fed crops that are organically grown, and this is the main difference from regular milk. Regular and organic milks are equally safe and nutritious.
New milk packaging is becoming more convenient and appealing than ever. There are portable single serving milks with resealable plastic bottles, and milk cartons that come with a screw cap.
New flavours are expanding to include fruit flavours such as strawberry and banana, brand-name chocolate-bar flavours, and flavours such as “café au lait.” The refrigerated shelf life can be up to 60 days. However, once opened, these products stay fresh as long as regular milk. The milkshake products are not generally fortified with vitamin D.
Milk with DHA is milk that comes from cows that are fed a conventional diet that has been enriched with DHA from natural sources. This enriched diet allows cows to produce milk that is naturally higher in DHA. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that helps develop and maintain brain, nervous system and retina health.