RResidents in Japan

UHT Milk In Japan?

*First off, since this community is very aggressive and unfriendly, I have to write this disclaimer.*

*If you’re going to accuse me of things, blame me of not knowing this or that or anything similar, or going to hurt my feelings in any way, I kindly request you to stay away from this post. I’m here to ask and gather knowledge. Had I known the things I’m asking here, I wouldn’t be asking them in the first place. Also, English isn’t my first language so if my English isn’t correct, incoherent, that might be the reason for it. If you’re irritated for this, please stop reading, thank you for your attention.*

*Rule 1. Be respectful and civil. We’re all humans, we’re all capable of mistakes and surprisingly it’s possible to learn things if you don’t know them.*

Now, to my question. I don’t have refrigerator in my house. That’s because I have little use for it and I am a very light sleeper, when it turns on in the middle of the night, I wake up. Now this is a personal preference and there’s no reason to attack me for not buying or using one and the consequences of doing so. Since I don’t have a refrigerator, I bought milk in small quantities, “125ml x 36 to be exact” to my knowledge, I thought all the milks in the world are UHT and is totally fine to keep them shelved without refrigerating them until you open them. The milk arrived today [https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00ECREPTO/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_asin\_title\_o00\_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00ECREPTO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) in a chilled state, this put me off then I checked the milk and it says keep it below 10 degrees. And I didn’t see any UHT labeling as well. Is all the milk going to be rotten in a couple of days? if so I will give them to my friend whom has a refrigerator. And are there any UHT milks available in Japan?

Again, if I used wrong terms or wrong information, it’s because my lack of knowledge, if you’re irritated by it, there’s no need to attack me, you can just don’t write anything, ignore this post or if you’re kind enough, I would really appreciate corrections and information provided. Thank you for your time. Have a nice day.

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Update:

[https://www.simplyoishii.com/milk.html](https://www.simplyoishii.com/milk.html) Thanks to the u/Akamas1735 a very useful link!

* **UHT (Ultra Heat Treatment)** \-  1-3 sec. at 120 -135 C
* **HTST  (High Treatment Short Time)** 15 sec. at 72 -78 C
* **LTLT (Low Treatment Long Time)**  30 minutes at 63-68 C　Sold in Japan as Teionsakkinnyu (**低温殺菌牛乳**）at a premium price

It does says it needs refrigeration but according to this link, the milk I bought is UHT milk. 130C at 2 seconds. The refrigeration warning might be for after opening the package. Since I already bought the milk, I will test it and update this thread again. Thanks for all the information.

14 comments

  2. I hadn’t really thought about it but UHT milk must be quite common here since our milk seems to last a long time (actually never had it spoil). The following link shows the kanji to look for when seeking UHT milk. I’m going to the store today, so I’ll look to see what brands you can buy.[https://www.simplyoishii.com/milk.html](https://www.simplyoishii.com/milk.html)

    Also, you might consider a camping cooler/fridge—they run on AC and car batteries, and you could just unplug it at night.

  3. > Is all the milk going to be rotten in a couple of days?

    From [this page (how long can milk be out of the fridge?)](https://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/how-long-can-milk-be-out-of-the-fridge):

    *According to the US Food and Drug Administration, refrigerated foods, including milk, should never be out of the fridge at room temperature for longer than two hours. That window closes quickly if the ambient temperature rises. “If the temperature is above 90°F, food should not be left out more than 1 hour,” the US Food and Drug Administration says. That’s part of the reason the Dairy Council of California recommends going straight home after grocery shopping and immediately putting your milk in the fridge.*

    > And are there any UHT milks available in Japan?

    It would appear, searching for “UHT milk” on Amazon JP did give a couple of hits, with user comments that indicated they could be stored at room temperature.

    The phrase I seem to be seeing on those items is: 常温保存

  4. The label on the link you posted shows it needs refrigeration. I’ve never seen UHT milk here. You may need to use powdered milk.

  5. I’m pretty sure that people would have given you normal advice without having to make several references to this community being toxic!

  7. If you don’t mind soy milk, you can buy those unrefrigerated in little packs. They come in lots of flavours too!

  9. Ya, not a fan of the preface here, but the take home is this:

    UHT is good for keeping the product SHELF STABLE. This means unopened, in reasonable weather conditions, no access to direct sunlight, for a long period of time. Usually quite a while unless the temperature exceeds like 30C for a long period. They refrigerate it anyways because it extends the life span of the product, and lets the general public know that it still does need refrigeration in the end.

    Any Milk product once opened has a limited life without refrigeration, and while UHT will last longer in the fridge than most, it will still go bad. Exposed to room temperature it goes bad as quickly as any other milk product.

    So yes, if you keep a bunch of lunchable box size units in the house and finish them off as soon as you open them, you should be safe. Try to keep them in a place where the temperature is stable and doesn’t get exceedingly high. UHT can still go bad in the packaging if it is stored outside of its intended temperature range.

  10. When I went to the store today, I looked at every brand of milk in the Ito Yokado supermarket (which is also part of the 7-11 convenience stores and brand), they all stated 130ºC for 2 seconds. So it would seem that all milk is UHT in Japan according to Japan’s definition of UHT. You could buy the small individual serving sizes. So, it looks like you’re good to go.

    Now, for me, I can’t drink milk at room temperature, not even in cereal…

  11. I’ll let others answer about UHT milk, but I always keep a few cartons of [this soy milk](https://amzn.asia/d/gtSY3ek) on my shelf because it doesn’t need refrigeration, lasts for ages and it’s also very yummy 🙂

  12. Soy milk. Can resist about anything before opened. After that turns into tofu so drink quick or buy small. Cheap. Local. Vegetal. Can cook, make the lattes. Dmg down + tears way up. More milk for cow babies as it should be. You won’t regret.

  14. The one you bought has to be kept in the fridge. Likely something about the package or packaging process makes it not shelf stable.

    Shelf stable milk will have 常温保存可能品 written on it. Another comment has a link with some examples.

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