🚚 Milk transport, storage and sale

Milk transport, storage and sale covers how milk travels, kept cold, from the farm to the shop and the home refrigerator. This route is called the cold chain, and EU rules require it to be maintained during transport too.

The first hours matter most. According to FAO, for 3–4 hours after milking the milk's natural inhibitors, lactoferrin and lactoperoxidase, hold back the multiplication of bacteria, and cooling to 4 °C during this time preserves the original quality. Industry practice is to chill milk to +4 °C no later than 2 hours after milking. The lactoperoxidase system, approved by Codex, extends the keeping time of raw milk by 7–8 hours at 30 °C, but it is no substitute for pasteurization.

Raw milk transport is the job of the milk tanker with an insulated tank, so the milk arrives still cold. In the EU it has to reach the plant at no more than 10 °C, and tankers are cleaned and disinfected after every trip, or at least once a day. According to FAO, collection and transport often account for more than 30% of processing costs.

Packs for consumers are sealed right after filling, and any opening has to be clearly visible. The milk then passes through a warehouse and a distribution center, and a refrigerated truck takes it to the shop. In the EU only milk that meets the requirements for drinking milk may be sold without processing.

At home milk belongs in the refrigerator at 0–5 °C; the UK Food Standards Agency advises checking this with a thermometer once a week. Cold does not stop bacteria from multiplying completely, so the «use by» date on the pack is the safety limit.