Ernest Shackleton led the British Antarctic Expedition in 1908-09 that managed to reach a spot only 112 miles from the South Pole. The expedition left behind their camp and the supplies they could no longer carry, and they've been frozen there ever since. The Antarctic Heritage Trust has been working to restore Shackleton's abandoned huts for years, and they keep finding more supplies. The latest is an entire container of New Zealand's Defiance brand whole milk powder, manufactured in 1907. The milk powder has been chemically analyzed.
Now, if you were to guess what the difference is in powdered milk from more than 100 years ago and today's milk, what would you think the differences are? You might guess that milk produced in New Zealand in 1907 would be purer than today's milk, with fewer pollutants, but maybe not as nutritious because of precise cattle breeding and advances in feed since then. Just the opposite was found. Both the 1907 milk powder and the modern milk powders it was compared to contained the same protein, fat, and other nutritional components. The modern milk dissolved better because of manufacturing advances. But the 1907 milk also contained traces of lead, tin, iron, and other metals, attributed to the plumbing systems in use in 1907 and the deterioration of the packaging. We may have more pollution today, but we've learned a few things about food production. Read more about the milk analysis at Phys Org. -via Damn Interesting
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Discovering lead is a little concerning. There was a TV show of two guys who would discuss the history of old food from the past and then sample the product that either they found on their own or a viewer sent in to try. I was always worried about their health and safety of an ingredient going bad. Never thought about an intentional ingredient already being harmful due to poor standards from the past
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DRIED BEATS MILK THEM ALL
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