Milk, fluid, 1% fat, without added vitamin A and vitamin D

Fun Facts

1. The fat content of milk varies with species (cow, sheep, goat, water buffalo), animal breed, feed, stage of lactation, and other factors. In order to provide the consumer with a consistent product, most milk in the U.S. is standardized.
2. To achieve standardization, milk is processed through centrifugal separators to create a skim portion and a cream portion of the milk. Separation produces a skim portion that is less than 0.01% fat and a cream portion that is usually 40% fat, although the desired fat content of the cream portion can be controlled by changing settings on the separator.
3. The majority of U.S. fluid milk is pasteurized using a high temperature short time (HTST) continuous process of at least 161°F (71.6°C) for 15 seconds. These conditions provide fresh tasting milk that meets the requirements for consumer safety.
4. The fat in milk is secreted by the cow in globules of non-uniform size, ranging from 0.20 to 2.0 µm. The non-uniform size of the globules causes them to float, or cream, to the top of the container.