Should I drink pasteurized milk that has a yellowish colour?

Question

I somehow found a packet of "full cream" pasteurized milk in the fridge. It was in the bottom section, not the freezer. (My fridge has an ice-making compartment at the top, where I generally keep pasteurized milk.) I have no idea how many days ago it was bought.

The milk wasn't frozen, as expected. It was a slightly cool liquid.

When I poured the milk into the pan, I saw it had a yellow tint to it, but no lumps. As the milk was being heated, the corners began to turn a bright white. Slowly and slowly, the white part was increasing and centering the yellowish part. After I took it off the stove, it had again turned a creamy yellow colour. I shook it, and the cream collected on top. The milk below, however, was white.

I find this very odd—pasteurized milk is usually pure clean white. I can't afford to take risks in such matters.

Is the milk spoiled? Should I drink it?

The smell was perfectly alright. I took a sip: the milk tasted very creamy and delicious.

Answer 1

There are 2 terms with milk that often get mixed up, they are pasteurized and homogenized. Pasteurization is a process where milk is heated up to a temperature which kills foodborne microbes, making it safer and keep longer in the refrigerator, homogenization is a separate process where the milk is processed to create an emulsion where the cream is evenly distributed and doesn't separate in long term storage. What it sounds like is that you have bought milk that has been pasteurized but not homogenized, so the cream is separate and floats to the top. If this is the case then it's perfectly safe, and as long as it smells and tastes good it's likely absolutely fine. It may not be to your taste, I personally do not like running into chunks of cream in my milk, but there's nothing wrong with it. It's also possible that your milk has been processed incorrectly, but the label "full cream" seems to indicate that it is meant to be that way.

However, if you have any doubts about it or have health issues which raise concerns then it may be best to not drink it. It's a shame to waste food but it's worse to be in bed with stomach cramps, you have to balance waste with safety.