Is the expired milk recycled in Serbia and what do numbers on the pack mean?

Warnings appeared again on social networks that Serbs are drinking recycled milk or milk that is passed its expiry date so it is returned to the production to make a "new" drink. 

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"Know-alls" are supporting this story with the numbers from 1 to 8 which are on the pack that show how many times the milk has expired and it was brought back to life with technological processes and then to the stores.

They told Telegraf.rs from the Ministry of Agriculture that the food is not being recycled in our country in any form.

- The term "recycling" is related to the Law on Waste Management and represents the separation of waste material and its reuse through the processes of collection, separation, processing, and production of new products from used items or materials. The Food Safety Act does not recognize the concept of food recycling - they said in the Ministry.

The numbers found by the advocates of the "recycling" theory claim that milk which is passed its expiry date is returned to the re-pasteurization, heated to the 190 degrees. However, the milk producers say that there are no pasteurization lines at such high temperatures, neither in Serbia nor in the region.

- And if they did exist, that is not done because it is illegal. The pasteurization process means that the milk is heated to 72-75 degrees centigrade for twenty seconds, followed by cooling and then reheated. Long-term milk is heated up on higher temperatures, from 130 to 140 degrees so it can be resistant to microorganisms from the air - a producer of milk explains.

Tetrapak mleka, Foto: Telegraf.rs

Expired milk is destroyed, and the numbers at the bottom of the pack don't indicate how many times the milk was returned to be re-boiled, but the label of the pack manufacturer which has to do nothing with the content.

The National Reference Laboratory for milk testing was established in order to make sure that the milk is of good quality in Serbia.

- We started the laboratory accreditation process. This extremely important activity also includes direct work with samples. In this context, from the beginning of the year, we have examined raw milk samples collected directly from the producers and through our dairy farms. The value obtained goes mostly around the reference values, but there is certainly room for quality improvement and further work in the field of hygiene, using modern technologies for milk production - they said from the Ministry of Agriculture for Telegraf.rs.

(Telegraf.co.uk / G. Avalic/g.avalic@telegraf.rs)