Which milk can I buy that is natural? Would less pasteurised milk be better?

Last updated 29/01/2025

All Australian milk is natural. Dairy cows are milked at the farm and within 48 hours, this raw milk is taken in tankers to a milk processor where it's pasteurised.

Conventional pasteurisation is a physical process (nothing is added or removed) that heats milk to 72°C for no less than 15 seconds, and then cooled immediately (long-life milk is heated to 140°C for two seconds and then packaged aseptically) which destroys any harmful bacteria and micro-organisms. This also extends the shelf life.

Some milk processors are choosing not to pasteurise their milk and instead use technology that is able to apply extreme pressure to the milk to ensure it is free of harmful bacteria. Pasteurisation is still by far the most popular technique which, like applying extreme pressure, has little to no affect on milk's nutritional properties.

Milk on the supermarket shelf can come in many varieties: chilled, long life, concentrated (skim milk/full milk powder and condensed) and A2 milk. They all contain essential vitamins and minerals, with specific differences that make each unique. These products are all pasteurised to be considered safe for human consumption.