How is milk sold to dairy food processor? Are they sold in whole, 2% 1% and skim milk, or are they sold as raw milk and it is up to the dairy processor to process and package?

Raw milk is sold to the processor. Alberta Milk transport trucks go to each farm in the province at least every other day and pick up the milk. Nothing is done to the milk other than it is tested before it’s picked up to ensure it meets our milk quality standards. At that point, the fat quantity would be the equivalent of whatever those cows produce on that farm, so about 3.5-4%.

From there, the processors separate all the fat out of the milk, then add it back in to ensure that when you purchase milk, it’s the exact percentage of fat you’re seeking. The processor then packages the milk and distributes it to stores.

Learn more about the things we do to make sure that milk is safe.