Why is all the milk in grocery stores “Grade A”? What is a lower grade and where is it?
In: Biology
Grade A milk is the grade suitable for drinking directly as milk. It passes the highest quality standards.
The other grades that exist are AA, B, and C, though C is only used at the US state level, not the federal level. AA milk is exclusively used for making butter; you will never find “Grade AA” milk for purchase. B-grade milk does not meet the quality standards for being sold directly as milk, but it is of sufficient quality that it can be used for industrial purposes. This is the milk that gets used for making dehydrated nonfat milk powder and various other industrially-processed forms of milk. C-grade milk, per some state laws, fails to meet the requirements for any other grade, but is not considered to be “adulterated”–I can’t find any indications of what it would be used for, but my guess would be that this milk, so long as it isn’t *unsafe,* can be used in things that aren’t meant for human consumption/usage.
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