🥛 Milk

Milk is the normal mammary secretion of milking animals, obtained from one or more milkings with nothing added and nothing taken away. That is how both the Codex Alimentarius and EU law define it. Cow's milk is roughly 87 % water; the rest is fat (3–4 %), protein (about 3.5 %, mostly casein), the milk sugar lactose (about 5 %) and minerals.

The FAO estimates that the world produced about 1 billion tonnes of milk in 2025 and forecasts 1,012.6 million tonnes for 2026. Cows supply around 81 %, buffaloes 15 %, goats 2 %, sheep 1 % and camels 0.4 %. India is the largest producer with about 22 % of world output, followed by the United States, Pakistan, China and Brazil.

The oldest direct evidence of milk comes from fat residues in clay pots. A study of more than 2,200 vessels showed that milk was already in use in the 7th millennium BC, above all in northwestern Anatolia. The ability to digest lactose as an adult spread much later: most early Neolithic Europeans lacked it, and it became common only in the Bronze Age and later.

In the EU, drinking milk comes as raw milk (not heated above 40 °C), whole milk with at least 3.5 % fat, semi-skimmed with 1.5–1.8 % and skimmed with no more than 0.5 %. Any other fat level is printed on the pack as a number.

Why it matters to you. Pasteurised milk is heated to at least 72 °C for 15 seconds and kept in a fridge at 0–5 °C. UHT milk is heated to 135 °C or more and filled into aseptic packs, so it keeps at room temperature until opened. A "use by" date is about safety, "best before" about quality. Raw milk can carry Campylobacter, Salmonella and other pathogens; EFSA, the CDC and the FDA warn of the risk, especially for young children, pregnant women and older adults. If lactose bothers you, lactose-free milk is an option.

Milk or a plant drink? By the Codex and EU definition, milk is the secretion of milking animals with nothing added and nothing taken away, so a drink made from oats or almonds is a different product. Milk itself differs by animal: cow's milk is about 87 % water, yak milk 83 % and donkey milk 91 %. It also differs by treatment: raw milk is not heated above 40 °C, pasteurised milk is heated to at least 72 °C, and UHT milk to 135 °C or more.

Read the pack for the fat level (whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed), the treatment (pasteurised or UHT) and the animal, if it is not cow's milk. Chilled pasteurised milk sits in the refrigerated aisle, while UHT milk is sold unchilled in aseptic cartons. Check the date: "use by" is about safety, "best before" about quality. Raw milk comes from farms and dedicated vending points and should be treated with extra care.

On health, the EU allows only specific claims: calcium is needed for the maintenance of normal bones and teeth, protein contributes to growth in muscle mass, and vitamin D, where added, contributes to normal absorption of calcium. Whole milk has about 113 mg of calcium per 100 g; EFSA sets 950 mg a day for adults from 25, so one glass gives roughly a third.