Tag: European milk

According to the National Institutes of Health, over 65% of the world's population has some form of lactose malabsorption after infancy. If you've ever traveled to Europe and noticed you can drink milk without digestive discomfort, even when you can't at home, you're not alone. The reasons why European milk may not hurt your stomach are complex and relate to genetics, dairy processing, and even cattle breeds.

According to U.S. Dairy, UHT milk is heated to 280°F for two seconds, a process that kills virtually all bacteria and allows the milk to be stored unrefrigerated for months. This advanced method is the reason why is milk in Europe not refrigerated, a phenomenon that often surprises visitors from countries accustomed to chilled dairy aisles.

While roughly 80% of the global population experiences some degree of lactose malabsorption, many people report being able to drink milk in Europe but not the US. This phenomenon isn't due to lactose content but a surprising combination of regulatory, genetic, and processing differences that shape the dairy landscape on each continent.

An estimated 96% of milk produced in the EU is cow's milk, but processing and regulations mean it's not the same as the milk found in the United States. Multiple factors contribute to why American milk is different from other countries, including the use of growth hormones, pasteurization techniques, and variations in cow diets.