Researchers have discovered a way to push the shelf life of milk from two or three weeks to nine, says Gizmodo. By putting tiny drops of already-pasteurized milk into a high-pressure chamber and quickly raising the temperature of the milk by 10 degrees, scientists at Purdue University and the University of Tennessee killed 99 percent of the bacteria that normally remain after pasteurization. Even with the temperature increase, the process stays well below the 70-degree Celsius mark for pasteurization.
“With the treatment, you’re taking out almost everything,” says researcher Bruce Applegate of Purdue. “Whatever does survive is at such a low level that it takes much longer for it to multiply to a point at which it damages the quality of the milk.” Just as important, taste testers were unable to detect a difference in the specially treated milk from the regularly pasteurized version.
According to Eater, milk consumption is on the decline, having been replaced by dairy substitutes like almond and soy milk. But when or if this new super milk does hit shelves, the fact that it last three times as long, could help cut down on food waste.