any point in storing milk in glass jugs - in the fridge

ellejay

Hi

Coming from the angle of trying to minimise plastics in food, is there any point in pouring the shop bought milk (usually in 3 ltr plastic jugs) into glass airtight jugs and store in the fridge.

Is the damage already done re plastics in milk? or maybe there's nothing to worry about?

What are peoples thoughts on this please!

MrMusician18

You are minimising the time plastic chemicals have to leach out but food grade plastic is quite stable. Leaching isnt a linear process either, most will happen in the first day or so. The milk will also spoil faster if the bottles aren't perfectly sanitised.

So id say the gain is absolutely minimal. The most sustainable option would be to buy farm gate milk, if you are lucky enough to live close to a farm doing it.

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123006849#Comment_123006849

The consequences of drinking unpasteurised milk could easily result in more resources used than any possible savings. Antibiotic resistant TB isn't something you shake off over the weekend.

Yes the rule of thumb with mixing milk is that it's all as old as the oldest milk in the mix. So you can't top up a jug which means lots of cleaning.

IIRC its the pressurised plastic bottles that have more of the microplastics ?

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123006874#Comment_123006874

Sorry, when I mean buy farm gate milk, I mean buy it from a farmer that's set up to do it. In that instance it will be pasteurised. If you live near Athlone, there's a farm on the N62 near Michael Moore garage with a farm gate pasteurised milk dispenser. I get it when passing and it beats shop bought for creaminess by a mile. I guess that's because it's not homogenised.

It's much too risky to consume raw milk and id never suggest it

ellejay

Thanks very much for the replies.

Think I'll give it a miss.

magicbastarder

it's not legal for someone to sell you unpasteurised milk FWIW.

anyway, back to the OP's original question; depending on where you live, you might be able to source milk where you can bring your own containers. for examples there's one in st margarets, only a few hundred metres from the western end of the runways in dublin airport, where they've their own milk dispensing machines, using milk from their own cattle, and you can fill glass bottles with milk there.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123012643#Comment_123012643

The sale of raw milk is not illegal anymore, not since 2015. Rather ironically you'll find it for sale in health food places and the like. Normally has a green cap/label.

magicbastarder

cheers, the farmer who runs the place mentioned said he's not allowed sell it; perhaps there's a much stricter set of conditions he'd have to meet, which aren't worth it for him?

i took his comment as being a blanket ban.

Glaceon

I've always shied away from milk in those thin, frosted plastic bottles where possible. I notice that it taints the taste of the milk after a short period of time.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013090#Comment_123013090

I used to think that too, but the "taint" comes from a lot of shops (at least in the past) using improper storage and display. The taint is actually early spoilage. Light spoils milk, and a tetra Pak is better at blocking light than the jug

If you buy the plastic jug from the back of the fridge and a fridge that has high throughput with doors then it will last as well as a carton.

magicbastarder

there are more than one crowd doing that 'bring your bottles for refills' approach - would be great if there was some sort of register of them to look up whether there's one near you.

here's another in offaly.

https://boorabainne.com/

Oscar_Madison

Came across a few farm milk dispensing places in Trim recently

MrMusician18

Rostellan farm Midleton Cork

The milk bar Lusticle Donegal

Wholey Cow Drumiskin Louth

Graze Dairy Caragh Kildare

Farnadolly Milk Barn, Crosdoney Cavan

Killadoon Milk, Multiple locations specialist grocery, Dublin/East

Delasheen Farm Milk, Athboy, Meath

Bo Bainne Ur Clonakilty Cork

Mooghna milk, multiple locations (Ennis, Miltown Malbay, Ennistymon) Clare

Ballyconnery Bo, Ballyconnery, Dungarvan Waterford

Lapland Milk Laplands Douglas, Cork (I understand is coming soon)

Already mentioned on thread

Bonny Bo, Creggan Athlone Westmeath

Bainne Bo St Margaret's Dublin

Boora Bo, Boora, Offaly

Teagasc have been encouraging dairy farms to diversify their income stream by selling diect. With the relatively recent advent of these small milk processing and vending machines, plenty of farmers have gone for it. The going rate is €2/l which makes it a premium product.

I'd love to see more doing it.

looksee

Why not just buy tetra packs? I stopped buying plastic containers of milk years ago.

MrMusician18

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013374#Comment_123013374

Tetra Pak is a single use cardboard plastic composite that is even harder to recycle than the plastic jugs.

samcr440!

We use the Milk Bar Lusticle Donegal. Been using the same glass bottles now since it opened. Have only broke one so far. A run through the dishwasher and they are ready to go again. Has cut down on some plastic waste for us as we use between 6-8 litres if milk a week. Granted that the Milk Bar is lest than 5 mins away from my house which makes it a no brainer to use it. €1.50 for a litre bottle and you can get all types of flavoured syrup if your in to that.

looksee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123013384#Comment_123013384

That's a good point that I hadn't really considered, our refuse company says to recycle them so I have to assume that they know what they are doing with them. I grant that my assumption may be wrong. Its an interesting point.

deandean

NO.