What Is Heat-Treated Milk?

Kelli Foreman
Feb 11
5 min read

What Is Heat-Treated Milk?

(And Why Our Farm Is More Like a Backyard BBQ Than a Restaurant)

Why Milk Labels Are So Confusing

Milk labels are confusing. Words like raw, pasteurized, heat-treated, Grade A all sound similar, but they don’t mean the same thing. So I want to explain, clearly and honestly, what heat-treated milk is, why our labels look the way they do, and why we’ve chosen the system we operate under here in Kodiak.

How We Started: Life as a Grade A Dairy

I started as a Grade A certified goat dairy. That meant I met all the state/federal requirements to sell into grocery stores. For big systems and passive consumers, that model works just fine.

But as a very small, hands-on micro dairy, it slowly became clear that the Grade A system wasn’t built for farms like ours.

In many large dairies, the farmer is no longer the person doing the milking, processing, bottling, labeling, and selling. Here, I do all of it. This is personal work. Careful work. Relational work.

Under Grade A, my milk was tested regularly. In all my years, I never failed a single test. I was also required to do antibiotic residue testing. That makes sense in large systems with many employees. But on our farm, I know exactly what goes into our animals and that they do not receive antibiotics.

The Packaging Problem

Then there was packaging.

Grade A requires coded, single-use plastic jugs. Getting those to Kodiak was expensive, and most of them went straight to the landfill.

When I looked into glass jars, I found out I would need special coded jars and an industrial washing machine—an expense that would have put us out of business.

The Big Transition: Stepping Out of Grade A

Right about that time, raw milk registration became legal in Alaska. After a lot of prayer, research, and conversations with the State Vet’s office, I made the decision to step out of Grade A.

Why Our Labels Say “Heat-Treated”

Now here’s where things get confusing.

Even though I still use the same low-temperature, long-hold heating process 145°F for 30 minutes. I’m no longer legally allowed to use the word “pasteurized” on my labels.

So, working with the state, our labels now say:

Heat-Treated Milk

To be very clear:

Heat-treated milk is not raw milk.It has been processed. It has been heated. It is different.

This process is recognized by the State of Alaska and the FDA and is used to reduce risk and extend shelf life. It does not make food perfect or risk-free. No food is.

A Very Important Truth: All Food Has Risk

Any time we talk about food, we need to be honest about something:

All food comes with risk.

Vegetables get recalled. Meat gets recalled. Packaged foods get recalled. Nothing we eat is completely without risk.

Over time, regulatory agencies have decided that pasteurized milk is the safest universal standard for large, anonymous food systems. And that makes sense when food is being produced by the millions of gallons and shipped across the country.

But safety isn’t only about temperature.

It’s about:

The health of the animals
The cleanliness of the equipment
The care of the person doing the work
The scale of the system
And the accountability of the producer

If I believed for even a second that what we sell from this farm was unsafe for my friends and neighbors, I would not sell it. My family drinks this milk. My kids drink this milk. My neighbors drink this milk.

That doesn’t mean there is zero risk. It means there is intentional care, responsibility, and transparency.

Our Farm Is More Like a Backyard BBQ Than a Restaurant

The difference between how we operate now and how a big Grade A dairy operates is a lot like the difference between eating at a restaurant and eating at your neighbor’s backyard BBQ.

At a restaurant, your food is prepared in the back. You don’t see most of the process. You trust that regulations are being followed and that inspections happen—but you also know that no inspector is standing there every minute watching your food being made.

That system exists for a reason. Restaurants serve thousands of people a day.

But at your neighbor’s BBQ, it’s different.

You see the food. You see the grill. You see the kitchen. You see the person cooking.

And your neighbor really doesn’t want to make you sick—because you’re going to see them again. There is relationship. There is accountability. The food is usually small-batch, more careful, and more personal.

That’s how our farm works.

You see the animals. You see me. You see the jars.You see the milk room. You see the process.

Nothing is hidden behind a back door. This doesn’t mean one system is good and the other is bad. They are different systems built for different scales. Large systems need layers of regulation because the farmer is often not the person touching the product. Small systems are built on visibility, trust, and relationship.

How This Works in Practice

Here’s what that means practically:

The state does not routinely inspect my equipment or test my milk
I am legally required to sell direct from the farm
Anyone who resells my products must register and clearly label them differently
All products sold at the Kodiak Co-op are low-temperature pasteurized but we are required to say Heat Treated.
Only direct-from-farm customers can buy raw products

Why We Use Glass Jars

One of the biggest wins in this change is glass jars.

We sanitize every jar twice before use. Customers return them. We offer a discount for returns. And far less plastic goes into Kodiak’s landfill.

A glass jar lasts years. A plastic jug lasts one trip.

Freedom of Choice and Informed Consumers

I believe strongly in informed consumers and freedom of choice.

Some families do better with raw milk. Some prefer heat-treated. Some prefer store milk. My job isn’t to decide that for you—it’s to be honest, transparent, and let you choose.

What We Notice About Our Milk

A few differences I notice between our raw and heat-treated milk:

Heat-treated milk has thicker cream
It has a longer shelf life
It still tastes great
And I do believe our farm milk tastes richer and fuller than store milk

Why Our Milk Is Different

Our milk comes from cows and goats living right here in Kodiak, eating in this environment, in this climate. I believe that matters.

Our milk is not organic. Our animals do eat feed. But cows are ruminants their four stomachs do something amazing that we simply can’t. They turn grass and feed into nourishment.

Many people who can’t tolerate store milk do just fine with our A2A2 cow milk and goat milk. I think A2A2 matters most when milk is processed

but that’s another deep topic for another day.

Why Buying Local Matters

What I do know is this: