Ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurised milk is the non-refrigerated milk you see on the shop shelves (though they can be in the fridge too, so always read the label).
UHT pasteurisation involves heating milk or cream to 138° to 150° C for one or two seconds. Packaged in sterile, hermetically sealed containers, UHT milk may be stored without refrigeration for months.
Back in the day I used to enjoy the cooked taste of UHT milk, but then I learned about the dangers of this form of processing, and just how severely it alters the constituents of milk.
Studies show that UHT pasteurisation lowers CLA levels more than does normal pasteurisation. UHT pasteurisation also increases the conversion of CLA to toxic trans fats, while normal pasteurisation does not. On a side-note, microwave heating of milk had similar results to UHT pasteurisation, so I recommend not heating milk, or any food for that matter, in the microwave (Herzallah, 2005; Hurst, 2019).
The group of B vitamins are heat stable, so they are not affected by normal pasteurisation. However, UHT pasteurisation decreases B vitamins by 10-20%.
Where normal pasteurisation denatures many very important health boosting proteins in milk, UHT pasteurisation denatures all proteins in milk.
The bottom line is UHT pasteurisation is a more severe form of pasteurisation, which leads to a worse profile of healthful bacteria, proteins, enzymes, fats, and vitamins. Chances are you’d be better off drinking no milk at all than drinking UHT milk.
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