Is Japanese Yogurt and Milk pasteurized?

Can someone teach me the kanji to look for? According to JDIC WWW, ''pasteurized'' means 無菌 in kanji, but I don't see it anywhere on the milk or yogurt products.

I have something called Nomu-Yogurt (のむ　ヨーグルト）とちおとめ　いちご　flavor. No where on the bottle does it show the kanji.

Are most yogurt, milk, and drinkable yogurt products in Japan pasteurized? Thank you.
I am pregnant and I am not allowed to drink milk products that is not pasteurized as I may contract Listeriosis which can be deadly for the baby or, can give severe defects.

http://www.tochigimilk.co.jp/kuranomachi_nomuyo-guruto.html

You know yorgurt is made with lactic acid bacteria, so if it says it is 無菌, it can't be a yourgurt. It's in there. 無菌 means no bacteria...

http://www.meijibulgariayogurt.com/knowledge/bulgariayogurt/009.html

In the process of making, they do sterrilization (殺菌） before the lactic acid is added to the material. That's all.

I didn't get your point, but never heard that yourgurt was bad for expecting women in Japan.

I believe that most milk products in Japan has been sterlized/pasturized to a higher degree than in the west (sorry for the generalization here).

What I've read is that "pasteurized milk" in the west is defined as milk that has been treated via either HTST method - high temperature short time method sterilization (15 seconds sterilization by 72 - 78 degrees C heat) or LTLT method - low temperature long time pasteurization (at least 30 minutes sterilization by 62 - 65 degrees C heat). These methods seem to be common in Europe and US.


In Japan, UHT method - ultra high heat method (1 - 3 seconds sterilization by 120 - 135 degrees C) is more often used. They even have what they call "LL - long life" milk, which involves UHT method then sealing the milk completely sterile into aluminium-coatedd package that it keeps well for a few months in normal room temperature.

This UHT method has higher sterilization effect than LTLT or HTST method.


In Japan, milk that is not treated via UHT often has the writing 低温殺菌牛乳 (milk sterilized by lower temperature heat) on the carton, and this seem to indicate 30 minutes of sterilization by heat of 63 - 68 degrees C. This is the only industry controlled term you will see in Japan. Probably this is equivalent to "pasteurization" in the west.

If you look at the package, you will probably see how many seconds/minutes of sterilization at what temperature.

So my view is that milk in Japan is generally sterilized to a higher degree than in Eうrope or in US, which is one of the reasons why some people coming to Japan complain about the flavor of the milk.

Yes, as AK says, yoghurt and milk (and cheese) in Japan is quite processed, and perfectly safe for pregnant women. I and many people I know have eaten/drunk diary products here throughout our pregnancies and had no ill effects.

Sorry, dairy products, not diary! (^-^;)

The reason it's quite processed is because people are more susceptible to upset stomachs and IBS over there than the West is, mainly due to genetics. Long story short, they can't handle dairy well. If you're sensitive to dairy but want to drink milk and eat yoghurt, then Japan's milk should be a little easier on the stomach.

It may not be healthy, but it's still milk and yoghurt.

UHT milk has been sold in Europe for a long time..since the 1970s I think. It is interesting to see that in some Euro countries most of the people drink that milk while other Euro countries don't like it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-high-temperature_processing

milk in Japan is homogenized at a high pressure unlike western milk by adding chemicals. This is one of the reasons we notice the flavor without the chemical aftertaste we are used to. Once used to it, we like the pure smooth milk taste and even out of Japan, we only buy the Japanese Meiji milk in supermarkets and Japanese outlets.

We appreciate that during March 11 2011 the different milk company production and delivery remain consistent over Tokyo.

milk in Japan is homogenized at a high pressure unlike western milk by adding chemicals.

Not sure where you're getting your information but "western milk" is usually homogenized by the same high pressure physical process as Japanese milk, not by adding chemicals.

Jay Kay, unpasteurized milk and unpasteurized yogurt is not recommended for consumption in pregnant women (yes, yogurt can be pasteurised) for dangers of Listeria. Not sure what your point is either.

AK, thank you for the informative post, and to everyone else.

Raw milk should not be consumed for people with a weak immune system or who are pregnant.

I found the kanji term for "pasteurization" and it is actually "sterilization" not pasteurization. The word is 殺菌 【さっきん.

Milk products that are pasteurized 低温殺菌 or "sterilized" will have the kanji 殺菌, and then the degrees in C in which it was sterilized. Milk that have NOT BEEN sterilized will be "無殺菌牛乳" or "not sterilized milk"

Some companies don't sterilize their milk.
I am not sure if MEGMILK sterilizes it or not. Most of MEGMILK's product line is described as "Raw Milk" 生乳 with NO indication of sterilization of the product: http://www.meg-snow.com/products/milk/7cf02.html.
There is no "ESL" written on there either, which is another form of pasteurization (Extended Shelf Life).

"Raw Milk" is the kanji "生乳 【せいにゅう.
"Milk" is the kanji "牛乳" ぎゅうにゅう . The kanji is extremely similar looking.

In contrast, MEIJI milk products are sterilized. On this page you can see that their "raw milk" 生乳 product has all been sterilized for 2 seconds at 130 degrees C 130℃ 2秒間 : http://www.meijioishiigyunyu.com/lineup/.
They even have a page dedicated to explaining their sterilization process and why they do it: http://www.meijioishiigyunyu.com/dictionary/

Tanna Milk Products are also sterilized:
http://www.tannamilk.or.jp/product/milk.html
Hakodate Milk Products (sterilized):
http://www.e-milk.co.jp/cgi-win/shop/i_lst.exe?shop/shop.ini+milk+B-00...

In conclusion and to answer my own question, the kanji you should look for is 殺菌 (sterilized), 無殺菌牛乳 (not sterilized), and 低温殺菌(pasteurized).

Here are some milk related kanji and terms:
低脂肪牛乳 Low Fat Milk
無脂肪牛乳 Fat Free Milk
加工乳 【かこうにゅう】 (n) processed milk;
加糖練乳 【かとうれんにゅう】 (n) sweetened condensed milk
還元脱脂乳 【かんげんだっしにゅう】 (n) reconstituted skim milk
乾燥牛乳 【かんそうぎゅうにゅう】 (n) powdered milk

sweetboa,

What you see there on Meg Milk product 生乳100% is the ingredient/material that is used to MAKE this milk product, so don't worry about that. It is not that the product is "raw." It just says that it is made from 100% fresh milk, nothing added.

The reason why they say 生乳100％ for the ingredient/material is because at times "milk" is adjusted with something that is not raw milk - for example, dried milk powder may be added, or calcium may be added to make it "calcium fortified" milk."

The different terms you've listed in kanji at the end your post is the different types of milk "products." When you see 牛乳, you can be sure that it is made from 100% fresh milk, And all milk in Japan has been pasteurized or sterilized in one of the methods I've described above.

I just wrote down part of the product details on the side of the milk pack in my fridge.

種類別名称 (Type name): 牛乳 (Milk)
商品名 (Product name):　(I will skip the brand name)
無脂乳固形分 (Solids not fat): 8.3％以上 (At least 8.3%)
乳脂肪分 (Fat in milk): 　3.5％以上 (At least 3.5%)
原材料名 (Material/made from): 生乳100％ (100% fresh milk)
殺菌 (Sterilization/pasteurization): 63℃　30分間 (Fr 30 minutes at 63℃)
内容量 (Contents): 1000ml
…

This is a brand I like (pasteurized on a lower temperature at longer time) :)

I am not sure if MEGMILK sterilizes it or not. Most of MEGMILK's product line is described as "Raw Milk" 生乳 with NO indication of sterilization of the product: http://www.meg-snow.com/products/milk/7cf02.html.
There is no "ESL" written on there either, which is another form of pasteurization (Extended Shelf Life).

Megmilk sterilizes via the ESL process. Its mentioned on their FAQ and also indirectly implied by the 15 day shelf life on the product page that you linked to.

OT, but @Donaldl,, just wondering where you were in Tokyo after the earthquake last year that you found the milk supply was consistent- I remember milk and other dairy being extremely hard to find for several weeks after the earthquake, with things like yoghurt and butter being affected for much longer.

I sent an email to MEGMILK's customer service and received this answer from their company:

メールを拝読いたしました。
日頃から弊社の商品をご愛顧いただき、誠にありがとうございます。

この度は、「MEGMILKの牛乳とヨクルートは、全部、殺菌していますか。
妊娠中の母たちがMEG MILK牛乳を飲んでも安全ですか (無殺菌牛乳じゃありません
ですね)？」とのご質問をいただきました。

弊社の商品は、牛乳、ヨーグルト、チーズを含め全て殺菌をしておりますので、
ご安心してお召し上がり下さい。

お問合せありがとうございました。


Basically, they're saying that their products (milk, yogurt, cheese) are sterilized and are safe for consumption for pregnant women.