Fresh Milk vs UHT Milk - what is the difference between these two

Posted by TTN Palawan on Jan 07, 2019

Fresh Milk vs UHT Milk - what is the difference between these two

In the Philippines there is a little confusion sometimes about what is really Fresh Milk and what is UHT Milk. This confusion is caused because of wrong advertising.

There are some brands here in the Philippines that is advertising and calling their UHT milk .. fresh milk. Trying to indicate that their UHT milk is so good, you can't taste the difference.

So what is the difference between Fresh Milk and UHT milk?

The real Fresh Milk is milk which is typically High Temperature Short Time Pasteurized (HTST) indicating it has been heated to 165°F (74°C) for 15 seconds.

While UHT milk stands for Ultra High-Temperature Pasteurization (also referred to as Ultra Pasteurization or UP) and means that milk is heated to about 280 ºF (135 ºC) for 1-2 seconds, which kills more bacteria (both good and bad) than traditional pasteurization therefore giving the milk a much longer shelf life before it spoils.

Difference between Fresh Milk and UHT milk

FRESH MILK	UHT MILK
- Heated to 74ºC for 15 seconds (HTST) - Shelf Life 5-15 days - Always need to be stored in a refrigerator - Very rare in the Philippines	- Heated to 135ºC for 1-2 seconds (UHT) - Shelf Life 6-9 months - Only when opened stored in refrigerator - Most common in the Philippines