milk in japan

why all fresh milk in the supermarket will expire in the same month?
dont they add uht or preservatives?
because in my country, the expiration will be after 3 - 6 months (like Cowhead, if youre fmailiar)

O.o

Um, o...k.

You do realise that milk, even pasteurised milk, goes bad after like 2 weeks, right?

I'd hate to be you if your drinking fresh milk 6 months after its bought: how you're not dead or constantly sick, I have no idea.

Just read up on it: so you drink that crap off the shelves that tastes horrible and had no nutritional value? Gotcha, wouldn't touch that stuff if it was the last milk on earth.

I'd take powdered milk over that crap.

Interesting. Being from the States I'd never heard of such a thing as milk that lasts for months! It would seem that Japanese milk drinkers have also not taken to UHT milk. I wonder, can you taste the difference?

maybe not 6 months but yeah i am sure the expiration is atleast 2 months ahead, not on the same month. actually those milk are from u.s, australia, new zealand: cowhead, harvey fresh, anchor, nestle

here in japan those brands those exist (in nearby supermarket such as Life) and makes me wonder why it will expire on the same month.

drinking those milk with months away from expiry date doesnt made me sick but the milk here in japan made my stool watery once (not sure if because of the milk or the oatmeal but i drink many times, only happened once)

yes, there is. it is so called long-life milk,ロングライフ牛乳.

it is a little bit expensive than other milk.
Japan is rather a small country. all foods can be transported under refrigeration within a few days. long-term storage is not necessary.
the word "fresh",新鮮 in Japanese means "short term after harvesting". a few months stored food is not fresh.
generally speaking, Japanese don't like non-fresh food. non-fresh means low-grade.

correction to my prev post:
here in japan those brands DOES NOT exist (in nearby supermarket such as Life) and makes me wonder why it will expire on the same month.

thanks for the info

"DOES NOT exist"
because Japanese don't buy it.
expiring dates are determined to be very short, to protect the company from stupid claimers who store foods improperly.
it is generally OK during at least two-times longer period.

I think it has to do with the type of packaging they use for the milk (and the juice! Juice expires even sooner than milk in lots of cases).
Here in Japan the cartons are made of literally just cardboard and they cannot be closed once opened, and they have to be refrigerated at all times. I guess this is because of the very strict garbage laws.
At least in my country the cartons generally have a lining inside which makes them last longer if unopened, even at room temperature (at my parents' house it was very common to buy 12 packs of milk at once and just store them in the pantry, and they could last perfectly for one or two months).

I am just guessing though, I don't really have any reference for this.

I think it's more to do with fresh vs. long-life milk. Fresh milk certainly doesn't keep for very long, and should never be stored at room temperature; whereas long-life milk can be stored for longer periods of time at at warmer temperatures.

The Japanese may just prefer fresh milk. Here in Australia we certainly do! (Although long-life milk is still available).