in the hot climate milk vendors add small amount of baking soda to the milk. why?

3 responses so far ↓

• 1 Chloe & Flake // Jul 9, 2008

  so the milk would stay fresh longer

• 2 cando098 // Jul 9, 2008

  A pinch of baking soda in milk helps to keep it from spoiling.

• 3 Fred // Jul 9, 2008

  In milk, there is different strains of lactic acid bacteria that convert lactose (a sugar found in milk) into lactic acid. This causes the pH to drop and results in the curdling of the milk (due to denaturation of the proteins), resulting in the spoilage of milk. Adding a weak base like baking soda conteracts this drop in pH allowing the milk to last longer in warm temperatures.