The word pasteurized is written on the milk packets (like the ones shown here). They have a use before date.
Assuming it's been refrigerated the whole time, and it's still before the use before date, is it safe to drink the milk straight away from the packet? Or does it still have to be boiled to kill bacteria and make it safe?
Best Answer
Pasteurized milk is the standard way milk is sold in industrialized countries. How it's packaged can depend on the country but it's perfectly safe to drink provided it's consumed by the "use by" date.
Pasteurization is a heat-treating process:
This means that most of the microbes in the milk are killed and the milk is perfectly safe to drink right out of the carton. In fact, there are many jokes in the US about chastising teenage boys and young men about drinking directly from the carton/jug of milk.
Milk in the US is regularly consumed direct from the gallon jug, see the note under Vitamin D that says "Pasteurized & Homogenized":
Milk in Europe is often in Tetra Pak cartons which don't have to be stored in the fridge until opened and generally have a longer shelf life due to the UHT handling (see definition above):