United States raw milk debate temperatures may be used by different processors, pasteurization is most commonly achieved with heating to 161 degrees Fahrenheit (71.7 degrees Celsius) for 15 seconds. Milk is tested following pasteurization to confirm that bacteria have been killed to an acceptable level. Pasteurization kills pathogenic bacteria which occasionally may be present in milk, including those causing tuberculosis ("Mycobacterium bovis"), listeriosis ("Listeria monocytogenes"), Q fever ("Coxiella burnetii"), brucellosis ("Brucella"), campylobacteriosis ("Campylobacter"), salmonellosis ("Salmonella"), and several other foodborne illnesses (e.g., ). Pasteurization may not kill some resistant bacteria, which can eventually cause souring and spoilage of fresh milk. UHT pasteurization (Ultra High Temperature) is
Milk via ultra filtration, which removes smaller molecules such as lactose and water while leaving calcium and proteins behind. Milk produced via these methods has a lower sugar content than regular milk. In areas where the cattle (and often the people) live indoors, commercially sold milk commonly has vitamin D added to it to make up for lack of exposure to UVB radiation. Reduced-fat milks often have added vitamin A palmitate to compensate for the loss of the vitamin during fat removal; in the United States this results in reduced fat milks having a higher vitamin A content than whole milk.