Fresh milk - a luxury
It is a challenge to find fresh milk in Baku. You
can buy all kinds of brands in local stores - from Pinar to the
recently emerged PalSud - but all they can offer is durable,
ultra-heat treated (UTH) milk.
In world markets, UTH milk, produced under high temperatures reaching 138°C, competes with pasteurized milk, heated up to 71°C for 15-20 seconds, with the latter being more popular. What is commonly available in Azerbaijan is UTH milk with a life span of six months, until it is opened. Apart from the fact that this milk has a completely different flavor than the original product, it also loses such valuable vitamins as B12, vitamin C and thiamine, necessary for the human body, during its production process.
In principle, any kind of milk pre-treatment results in the worsening of quality and taste: the higher the heating temperature, the less vital qualities remain in milk.
As per Milk Pro, the largest Azerbaijani dairy company, pasteurized milk with a life span of 36 hours is produced only in winter. In summer, the probability that it is contaminated prior to reaching a store shelf is very high.
According to Ramstore and other stores in Baku, Milk Pro stopped delivering fresh milk in 2008. In 2009, fresh milk did not appear on store shelves even in the winter, although customers had repeatedly asked for it. The stores explained that this was caused by the unwillingness of dairy companies to deliver an expired product.
The Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) has said that, among major dairy companies, milk is produced by PalSud, which operates a factory able to produce some 150 tons of milk. Milk Pro appears to run with a similar capacity. The Azerbaijan Dairy Corporation has ceased operation. The remainder of the domestic market is dominated by UTH imports.
The bazaar remains the only source of fresh raw milk in Azerbaijan, as long as the dairy industry optimizes its logistics and channels investment into the production of fresh milk.
In world markets, UTH milk, produced under high temperatures reaching 138°C, competes with pasteurized milk, heated up to 71°C for 15-20 seconds, with the latter being more popular. What is commonly available in Azerbaijan is UTH milk with a life span of six months, until it is opened. Apart from the fact that this milk has a completely different flavor than the original product, it also loses such valuable vitamins as B12, vitamin C and thiamine, necessary for the human body, during its production process.
In principle, any kind of milk pre-treatment results in the worsening of quality and taste: the higher the heating temperature, the less vital qualities remain in milk.
As per Milk Pro, the largest Azerbaijani dairy company, pasteurized milk with a life span of 36 hours is produced only in winter. In summer, the probability that it is contaminated prior to reaching a store shelf is very high.
According to Ramstore and other stores in Baku, Milk Pro stopped delivering fresh milk in 2008. In 2009, fresh milk did not appear on store shelves even in the winter, although customers had repeatedly asked for it. The stores explained that this was caused by the unwillingness of dairy companies to deliver an expired product.
The Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) has said that, among major dairy companies, milk is produced by PalSud, which operates a factory able to produce some 150 tons of milk. Milk Pro appears to run with a similar capacity. The Azerbaijan Dairy Corporation has ceased operation. The remainder of the domestic market is dominated by UTH imports.
The bazaar remains the only source of fresh raw milk in Azerbaijan, as long as the dairy industry optimizes its logistics and channels investment into the production of fresh milk.
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