Interesting question. I switched to almond milk over a year ago myself. But as for your mystery, here's all I could find. I don't know if any of it is helpful.

Rocket fuel found in milk in California
Not clear if amount imperils children

A toxic chemical in rocket fuel has been detected in California's milk supply, although environmentalists and toxicologists disagree over whether the levels are high enough to pose a health threat to infants and young children.

Tests by the California Department of Food and Agriculture found perchlorate, a rocket fuel component widely used by the defense industry, in 32 samples of milk taken from Alameda, San Joaquin and Sacramento counties, according to a report released today by an environmental watchdog group.

...

"A major source of perchlorate for California is the Colorado River," Walker said.

source

Melamine has also been purposely added as a binder to fish and livestock feed manufactured in the United States and traced to suppliers in Ohio and Colorado.[35]

For what it's worth, the milk here in Florida still tastes fine. My friends who have their own cow say that the flavor of milk varies depending on what the cows have been eating, but big milk producers mix huge batches together so no one notices the variation. Unfortunately, in our world of factory farming, I'd be paranoid enough to suspect something less harmless than a little garlic amongst the fodder.

I don't know that I've noticed a different taste, I don't drink milk as much as I used to either. Being that I haven't been getting regular sleep lately, I assume that the milk has gone bad if it tastes bad, without really looking into it. I have to say, that being said, that I've been having some trouble with milk going bad before the expiration lately. Being that my son drinks a lot of milk I'd be interested to know what you find out, if you find out anything. Things I would think of is possibly the use of different materials to make the containers (for example a good percentage of the melomine found in many foods is actually from the packaging). Also possibly a different diet for the cows. It sounds industry wide.

This happened to me the first time this week! I usually buy Horizon organic, but will pick up the other organic brand if it's on sale.

It was watery and did have a nasty ricey taste and a horrible aftertaste right from the get-go. The kids assumed it had gone bad too.

First, they came for the real tomatoes, but I wasn't a tomato lover, so I said nothing...

Noooooo, not the milk!!!!!!

Tim - Do you happen to have a farmers market near you? They sometimes have higher quality dairy products there, since they're often on a first name basis with their cows. They tend to fill niche markets and cater to those following various health trends. And they would also be most likely to have some insight into your quandry.

I have a gallon (in plastic) of Horizon 1% and it tastes good. I just bought a half gallon of skim and it tastes horrible. It has that weird chemical "rice" taste that people mentioned.

I've had Horizon milk before that had the "green onion" taste. That was tolerable, but this new taste is just too overwhelming and terrible. It tastes like spoiled rice or something.

I bought two half gallons and just opened the other one. Sure enough, it has the horrible smell. I didn't bother tasting it.

I'm taking them back. (Kroger, Ohio)

I have noticed this for the past maybe 4 months or so. It started out being every two or three containers of milk I would buy and now it is almost every time. I just purchased one yesterday after taking a break for a while and it tasted horrible. I'm really glad I found this post, because I was starting to feel really crazy! I have no idea what this could be. I'm not taking any medications that would cause a change in tastebuds either. I'm in California.

Just for the record, we've been able to find decent-tasting milk again here in Denver. Seems to come and go. My current concern is that it might be indicative of something unhealthy getting into the mix.

I live in Denver too -- and cannot seem to get good milk. I usually buy Horizon and sometimes Whole foods 365 brand. It frequently tastes strange - or spoiled when I open the cartons. I was wondering about the carton material because the last two times I got Horizon the carton was leaking on the bottom and the strength of the actual carton seems weaker. Hmmm. I'm thinking of going back to Royal Crest.

I live in NY city and I've had the same problem with the milk tasting horrible. I would say it has been for the last two years. Can't say how many gallons of milk I had to pour down the drain. Finally I stayed away from plastic containers and only buy milk in cartons. I can now drink milk again. I don't understand how this milk is being sold and consumed when it taste so bad. I asked my son to pick up milk for me yesterday and YES he brought me a plastic container of milk. I thought it may have changed after two years and tried it...it was absolutely disgusting! This is what prompted me to check the internet and see if anyone else was having a problem with milk tasting awful.

I don't understand how this milk is being sold and consumed when it taste so bad

Yes, that was our reaction too, exactly. I also decided to check the Internet, and noticed only a few small notes about the problem, yet it seemed to be (from our samples of other stores) fairly widespread. So I thought I'd put this out there to see if others were encountering the same thing. Apparently, quite a few are.

Ive tasted this taste you all have encountered. I have stayed with the same HyVee brand and its always a hit and miss. Lately ive bought good milk but the last two gallons bought were both unbearable. Both went down the drain. Thats also a horrible feeling. I dont think its brand specific or area specific. I live in South Dakota and LOVE milk but cant drink the bad stuff. I thought it was hormones but its probably what these milk cows are eating or how the milk is treated in the process along the line somewhere.Wishing for an answer.

My wife and I just experienced this for the first time here in upstate SC. We just made the switch to organic and bought a half gallon of Horizon 2%. The first carton we used entirely for cooking, and did not notice a problem. But then we bought a second caron and my wife poured it over cereal. It was the worst thing I have ever tasted. Like some nightmare medicine that leaves a bad aftertaste. Expiration date has plenty of time, and we just opened it. We are taking it back and trying something else!

OMG! This has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy. I am truly frightened. Only yesterday I bought a gallon of 2% from Target, not my usual source for milk. As I usually do, I mixed in a generous amount of Hershey's chocolate syrup. The milk had a powerful "soapy" chemical taste. I thought perhaps my dishwasher had malfunctioned and left my plastic cup soapy. I tired a new clean glass. Even without the chocoalte syrup, it was still powerfully soapy. Something ain't right here. I'm never buying Target milk again. I usually buy Dean's or my local grocery store (Kohl's) brand, and have never had this problem.
I googled "bad taste milk from target" and found the "Random Observations" blog. To me, this is clearly a soapy taste, not "ricey" like others report. But Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot? In the days of weekly Salmonella outbreaks, Mexican Flu, terrorist biothreats, a completely open border, and a completely corrupt and incompetent Government, we need to remain vigilant about exactly this sort of thing. I am glad to see you all here, reporting this. Now I don't feel so alone, but I still feel unsure about my food supply. I'm writing to Target, at least to get my money back.

FYI, found this page on milk flavor factors. Doesn't mention the "ricey" taste specifically, but does mention that rancid milk will taste "soapy" and astringent. http://www.farminfo.org/dairy/flavor-m.htm

Also, there is another thread I found in which others have experienced the same thing. http://community.tasteofhome.com/forums/t/690251.aspx One poster theorizes this might be oxidation from clear containers.

I am still concerned/annoyed enough about this that I searched out and found a dairy forum online. I've posed the question to them and linked them here. Hopefully we'll get some response!

I just returned from a school at Lackland Air Force Base and the 2% milk there tasted better than any whole milk I have had in years. It had a perfect taste. I have missed this for a long time. I thought my sense of taste had changed. The problem is the milk we get. I need to know the low down on that milk.

I just poured a bowl of cereal with Organic Valley Skim Milk and spit my first bite out in the sink. I then smelled the milk .. not sour, but there was a definite chemical-like odor. Tasted the same way it smelled. Looks like the mystery milk has made it's way to Brooklyn too.

We live in Savannah, Georgia and have noticed the milk starting to taste sour this summer. We thought it might be a bad batch, or a particular supplier. We tried it from several different stores. The bad taste is common to all our local store brands and the high end labels too. My kids don't want to drink it most of the time, and I don't push it. We're going to try organic next. It's very frustrating, and a little scary. I hate to think of what might be causing it. Please keep posting what you learn about this topic. Bad milk is just un-American!

Glad to have found this thread - I was beginning to think it was just me. Live in Rocaway Beach, NY and summer home in Saratoga Springs, NY - - the milk in both cities has been tasting rotten for the past 7 - 8 months. Not sour, but tastes like it had been heated and then re-chilled. Been buying from different stores, different brands, all varieties, all types of packaging. The only good-tasting milk I've purchased lately was Stewart's brand (Saratoga) in the cardboard half-gallon container. What's going on? Is the milk not being kept cold enough? The fact that this problem is so widespread is bad news. Hopefully the dairy industry will take notice and make corrections, or at least let us know what is causing this situation, and if we should expect it to continue.

This happened to me a week or so ago. I bought a gallon of Horizon Organic whole milk, and it tasted so badly of plastic that I brought it back to the store. The replacement gallon was fine.
Then I switched to Safeway Organic milk (2%) which was also fine. The next gallon of Safeway Organic 2% milk has that nasty plastic taste this time.
I'm in Maryland, just outside of DC. I hope someone figures this out, since we're spending almost $6 a gallon on milk that tastes gross.

We live in ND and have been noticing the same problem for the last couple of years. We have tried Target organic, Horizon, Organic Valley and some non organic brands. Seems to come and go. The last last 2 gals we bought we Organic Valley. The first one was fine the next one tasted like a band-aid. It had a very strong chemical odor and taste. The milk was from different batches with diff exp dates. I think I am giving up on milk for now.

I started noticing this first about a year or year and one half ago. First noticed it in Horizon organic then other brands. Regular milk does not seem to be effected like the organics. Also noticed the ultra-pasteurized is much worse. Compare for example the Horizon brand organic ultra-pasteurized vs regular pasteurized and you will notice the taste is only in the ultra. The taste and/or odor is not normal. Some say chemical or plastic some describe it as band aid taste or bitterness. It is hard to place but it is there. Something is definitely wrong and the milk producers are hiding it. I have contacted several companies and though they act concerned they have no answers. The origination of this taste must be in the packaging, processing, or care of the animals and should be easy to isolate. The main culprit as stated above seems to be ultra-pasteurized. UHT processed milk is treated at a higher heat for a shorter time period. Higher heat of course denatures the proteins to a greater extent. Also heat will bring out volatile compounds and change the flavor other constituents such as the fatty acids. So it could be as simple as overheated milk with a different flavor.
One last thought. Brettanomyces is a genus of yeast that produces 4-ethyl phenol. a compound that produces the exact flavor of Band aids. It is common in red wines. It has also been isolated in milks and cheeses and is prevalent in silage. So it could be the flavor from feed or from yeast in the stored milk prior to pasteurization.
Anyway, it may be a by product of the current production processes or it could indeed be a conspiracy.

I've tasted this since 2008 in Target brand milk, but not milk from the grocery store. The milk I got this week doesn't expire for another two weeks, and it is less than 2 miles from Target to my home, so it didn't go bad in the car.
I tried cooking with it, but I ended up throwing it out.

I've tasted this flavor all my life in Ohio supermarket skim milk: Acme, Giant Eagle, IGA, Great Value, Fishers etc. For this reason I only drank 1% or 2%. The "chemical-past-milk" flavor was masked somewhat in the higher fat content milk, until recently. The last couple Acme 2% gallons that I have purchased had the taste. It is scary to think about what may have changed in our milk.

Also, who knows what our milk will taste like if the dairy processors get their way regarding MPCs. The following URL is a story on that subject.
http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/03/10/mpcs/

I thought I was going crazy as well. So glad I found this site I love milk...er loved milk but can not drink it anymore I have tried every brand from every store here and all have a "nutty" or spoiled taste. Cant put my finger on it but its not the milk I grew up on. I would pay double for my milk if it would just taste right. I read that link about the price of milk so low its driving farmers out of the business, maybe this is a way the dairy farmers can increase the profits or maybe its a plan to get people to pay more for higher quality milk which I will do now. Please get me a good milk!

Hi, I also have found Milk with the bad after taste. I've noticed this for at least five years. It is a random thing with me. I'm 53 and still drink a lot of milk, usually 1% or 1/2% if the store has it.(Richmond,Va and now Raleigh,NC) We all love the cold crisp taste of milk, esp with something like cakes ect. When I get one of these awful tasting gallons of milk I return it and exchange for another. I describe it as chalky but I think we're all talking about the same thing. I figured it was too many hormones but someone described about the cleaning of the tank trucks and a new cleaning solutions. That makes sense and enought people haven't complained for the industry to make changes. I think regarding the processing of our foods there are a lot of things we would rather not know about...but can taste this one.. I'm glad I found this page. Regards Drew

Hi, I don't drink milk except in tea or coffee. but my son does & he has complained about the taste lately. I think that either they are not rinsing out the machines properly after they have cleaned them, which would leave cleaning product residue in the batches of milk or the plastic containers or cartons could be the problem. Just about everyone is recycling now & maybe the chemicals used to recycle these materials are leaching out into products. Remember recycling is fairly new & who knows what chemicals are used for this. Look at the baby bottles that were out for years with dangerous chemicals in them & how long it took for them to be recalled. There are also different types of plastic out there (mostly clear) type 1 I think, that can't be reused because chemicals leach out. There should be a triangle on the bottom of plastic containers telling you which # it is. There are too many people complaining about the milk taste for it to be everyone's imagination. Someone needs to get to the bottom of this before people get sick from who knows what.This bad taste will result in less people buying milk, sales will go down, do they really want that?

I won't buy milk in plastic jugs. I think the foul taste may come from a "mould release" agent (helps get the parts of the jug out of the mould). It is certainly not a normal milk flavor. I love the milk I get in the paper cartons.

The other link says it's because of "oxidation" from light. Any truth to this?

If the problem was oxidation, I'd think that it might have a similar taste to powdered milk. Does it?

I only notice that horrible after taste in the milk packaged in plastic. I don't notice it in cartons.

The problem wouldn't be hormone or antibiotics. FYI milk and dairy products are the most highly regulated foods and there is an insane amount of testing done on the milk from the farm all the way to your table. You would all be surprised. However, what a cow eats plays a huge role in how the milk tastes and also what season it is afffects the milk as well. MIlk will taste different from region to region and form farm to farm just because thats the way it is. THe flavor everyone is describing is likely oxidation of the milk. Milk is exremely susceptible to oxidation and becase it is stored in translucent bottles or jugs for the most part in a lighted dairy case at the grocery store this can cause oxidation. Also temperature fluctuations of taking it out of the friding, riding aroudn in your cart at the store, etc can cause the flavor to change. THe taste of powdered milk is not from oxidation it is from the high heat treatment that the milk undergoes to get dried, similar to how UHT or shelf stable fluid milk tastes.

Reread the above - the first paragraph was badly written. To rephrase; You're right that fat oxidation can cause bad flavors. This happens even in skim milk, since small amouts of fat can remain in skim milk, and the bad-tasting chemicals have an effect even in parts per million.

(Light may be one source of oxidation/bad taste, but others are addressed in the linked article.)

We just looked this up after having noticed the awful taste in store-bought milk yet again in the new container I just purchased. We're in PA- I just threw out the last milk I purchased, wondering what was wrong with it. Luckily, we can still purchase raw milk here, and that is what we had been doing for a while. Boy is it delicious!!! We thought maybe we were just used to the really good milk, but have ruled that out since we had occasionally purchased store milk when we would run out of the real stuff. Even the powdered milk I have for "emergencies" is better than this stuff!!! I would love answers! For now, no more store milk.

I buy organic milk in the large plastic cartons at trader joes, and it seems great every time. I've tried Horizon several times when I can't get to Joes, and every time it tastes disgusting.

Yes. I have noticed a rapid decline here in Utah over the last few months. Target has that horrible chemical aftertaste about half or three quarters of the time. Kroger's has it nearly all the time now. Even Kirkland (from Costco) has started selling the garbage. I used to think that I could be safe with Wal-Mart milk. Sadly, it is looking about 50/50 there as well.

The only reliable brand here in Utah is Winder milk. Of course, it costs more per ounce than diamonds (only slight exaggeration), so I cannot switch over to that.

I just sent this message to Tuscan Dairy Farms from here in NYC: "This milk in a paper carton has a strong plastic taste. I have avoided buying milk in plastic containers for years because of the plastic taste. Your brand always had a superior taste, I hope you are not plastic coating the insides of paper cartons now, I won't be able to buy them."

I live in Australia and my brother and I have noticed this strange taste and smell phenomenon for more than 20 years. It sort of tastes off like a very concentrated over the top milky flavour. We only drink full cream regular milk. It only used to happen very occasionally at a particular time of year but we both would not drink it either straight, or in tea or coffee because the flavour was so pronounced. We have discovered over time that it seems to be more common in cheaper brands of milk. Now I will only buy one brand (which is the most expensive) and this brand has only suffered from the taste/smell thing a couple of times. I would rather pay for a reliable source of milk than throw out litre after litre. We heard a theory years ago that it was caused by the cows eating clover. Recently we heard it may have been due to fillers the milk companies add to the milk. I find it interesting that it happens in other countries and seems to be far more common than I had imagined.

I've done a slight amount of searching and found a study on the Journal of Dairy Science (sounds like a lively lot, right?) about the effect of cattle ethanol consumption on milk flavor. (Cows may be ingesting ethanol from fermented feed.) http://jds.fass.org/cgi/content/abstract/82/2/420
"When cows received ethanol...Milk concentrations... of ethanol and acetone increased...The proportion of palmitic acid in milk fat increased... Organoleptic milk quality was reduced because of an increase in milk tainted by feed flavors. The off-flavor could not be attributed solely to the ethanol transmitted to the milk. Precautions should be taken to avoid extensive production of ethanol during fermentation of grass silage and other feeds that are to be fed to dairy cows."

In short, ethanol in feed made the milk taste bad ("the organoleptic quality decreased" - where organoleptic quality means flavor quality)

So here are some of the observations on the bad milk flavor, and then how these correlate with ethanol in feed affecting flavor:
Observed:
1. Random incidents of bad flavor; of 2 milks, even from the same brand made on the same day, one may have the flavor and one may not
2. Varying degrees of bad flavor
3. Higher quality brands having less frequent occurrences of the bad flavor.
Theory:
1. Some cows eat fermented feed, some don't.
2. Some cows eat more fermented feed.
3. Higher quality milk producers are likely to have fresher feed/ higher quality feed for all the cows

Given bad milk flavor has been occurring for the last 20 years (according to some comments here), I think alcohol-eating cows are a reasonable explanation (and hopefully a bit consoling to those worried about their delicious milk). I wouldn't say this is conclusively why your milk is tasting weird, but as they noted minute quantities of rocket fuel in California milk, I think it's more plausible than a nation-wide contamination of some horrible chemical that'll be sterilizing your kids. At the very least, I think this points to something the cows are eating.

Personally, I'm going to try buying whatever the higher quality brands are, as taking that first sip of nasty milk is the bane of my dietary existence at the moment.

A note on acetone(because it sounds like something nasty you wouldn't want in your milk): concentrations were on the order of 0.01 millimole / liter, or on the order of less than 1 ppm - well below noticeable health effects [ingesting 20 grams a day (WAAAAY higher than anything you'd get from milk) caused no health effects in a study]. However breathing acetone vapor concentrations around 250ppm for a few hours can cause some effect... so don't do that.

Wow! I am glad that my family isn't the only one noticing this. We used to live in upstate NY then moved to Wisconsin and now Minnesota, and we thought this icky taste had to do with just the mid-west milk. It IS horrible...especially the skim milk. It has nothing to do with going "bad" as I will buy a brand new gallon and open it and the taste will be just yucky. At first I thought that it might have to do with what the cows were eating (seasonally) but it happens at random times throughout the year. We also have tried all the brands available and it is SO hit or miss. I usually shop at Hyvee or Walmart. I never would have thought that so many people would be worrying about this topic also! I will be sure to show my husband this website, as he is the one who is the most disturbed by it (we are a big milk drinking family). I don't know how many gallons of milk get dumped, but I would recommend that the milk companies figure something out before people stop buying it altogether!! The farmers have enough troubles without these problems adding to it, right??

in the last 2 months or so, the milk i buy tastes fine for a few days...then ICK! before the expiration date, it starts smelling and tasting bad. not exactly sour, but nasty. i've been throwing away half the carton. what happened? i've never had this problem before and i'm a lifetime milk drinker. so far, the only milk that seems to hold up is "swiss". i buy fat free milk, mostly from albersons. however, i've also bought it from ralphs with the same nasty taste. what do we do????

The milk in Mississippi has a bad taste, also we have bought butter from Schnucks that was molding.
The really bad thing is we are feeding this to our children.

Thank heavens I found this. I've been drinking Kroger skim milk for years and not often (thank goodness) but every once in awhile I encounter this phenomenon. Opened a brand new ice cold gallon this morning to eat with my lovely chocolate doughnuts and AAAAAARGGGH! It is not an onion or garlic taste, or a sour or spoiled taste, or a rice taste. I can't describe it. It tastes bad going down and leaves a worse aftertaste. As we would say here in the South, it has a "whang" to it. @:) The post by KG was very interesting. If it is something the cows are ingesting, it's the SAME thing, because the bad taste is always exactly the same. I can't particularly identify it as a plasticky or chemical taste but I'm sure it could also have something to do with the containers or packaging process. Whatever it is, they need to figure it out and find some way to avoid it. Back to Kroger tonight to change out the milk and keeping my fingers crossed that the new gallon won't taste just the same.

I am in St Louis, MO and I am experiencing the same problem I have gone out and bought 4 different brands and they all have that distinctive disgusting taste and smell. I have told others here and they say they haven't noticed thankfully I am not the only one that has noticed. Its strange that the taste is simialr through all these brands everybody has mentioned across the country.

If you can get past the how / why / what, try adding a SMALL amount of vanilla. I used immitation vanilla. Learned this from a powdered milk box abut 35 years ago.

I'm so glad I've found this site. My milk has tasted terrible in the last 2 weeks. I drink Lucerene Lactose free. Tried King Soopers and the same thing. I'm dying for a nice cool glass of milk. HELP!

I have been getting the same thing here in riverside california. I thought it was just the brand, swiss, staters, hi-top and another I dont recall the name..the stores were staters and winco. The hy top I bought was doing great for 6months and in the past 2 weeks the milk is starting to have that funky tatse again. I have been going through this for a couple years now. Someone at the store said, always grab for the milk in the back, rather than the ones up front, due to not be cold enough? I dont know about that. I will try the carton ones and see what happens, may just go powder maybe that will taste better. Has anyone gotten a hold of a dairy and ask them what they think it might be? is it they are putting something new into the milk to enhance something? its seems to be across the US and it doesnt seems to be in every gallon of milk.

YES! I thought I was going crazy! My husband would occasionally buy milk from Walmart. Each time he did, I could taste this terrible taste and was like a borderline sour milk. It's disgusting! I too can smell it as soon as I open the container! I am a HUGE milk drinker and am really wondering what in the world could be causing this! Is this even safe? I won't let him buy milk from Walmart anymore! I am so happy to see other people on here tasting the same thing! I am going to write to Land O Lakes and find out what in the world is going on!

I bought skim milk from Sam's Club a couple days ago. It tastes AWFUL. I'm bringing it back. I had it in Rice Krispies and had to throw the cereal out. What the heck is going on?

I just noticed this yesterday. I bought a gallon jug of milk from Walmart in the DFW area. I made a glass of chocolate milk and ended up dumping it out because it was so disgusting. I thought maybe the dishwasher didn't rinse the soap well enough. Then I tried a drink of it straight from the jug - and I concluded it was the milk. It had a very bad chemical tasting aftertaste. I went to a different grocery store today and bought a new jug of milk. Same thing happened. Whatever it is, I don't like because I LOVE to drink milk!!!

I live in NW Pennsylvania, and for the past few years I have noticed an odd taste in organic skim/nonfat milk ONLY. I usually buy Organic Valley or Horizon and every so often both would have this odd taste--it's not spoiled, more of a metallic taste. I stopped drinking those brands and stuck with my store brand (Wegmans) or Wegmans organic skim and both are fine. So far, I've only experienced this weird taste in organic Horizon or Organic valley milk, both in cartons. Yesterday I decided to try O.V. again and it's horrible. I'm going to dump it. I don't know what's causing it but it's put me off these two brands of organic milk.

The only milk that tastes decent in Prospect Heights Brooklyn, NY is that which you get at the Farmers Market for about $6 a quart. I used to milk cows as a teenager and this is the only stuff that comes close to the taste I remember.

Organic Valley and Horizon use the UHT pasteurization process which affects the texture of the milk. This process extends shelf life, but I don't care for these brands. My friend says the Natural Cow organic brand is pasteurized the normal way and is second best to the Farmers Market varieties.

Cream-o-land, the ordinary milk brand around here, recently started packaging quarts in plastic instead of cardboard. I cannot abide the plastic taste in milk and will not buy milk in plastic containers. Just one bodega offers another brand, Derle Farms, with quarts packaged in paper cartons. Tuscan milk in paper cartons is also acceptable. Finding decent milk has become a consuming effort nowadays! I don't understand either how the producers can sell such a nasty product. I drink fresh ground coffee from a french press coffee maker, and I am particular about the milk or cream that I use.

I am in Santa Barbara CA and I drink milk on a regular basis. A few months ago I noticed the milk started to taste different. At first I thought it was "bad" milk. Then I realized after subsequent purchases that this formula or process had somehow changed. The 2% milk no longer tastes watery, it tastes fuller and seems thicker. But the other side is it tastes like it is about to spoil. I noticed it in both the Ralph's (Kroger) and Horizon brands. I'll be calling the number on the milk carton next week. 1-800-697-2448.

Target milk is awful for us. Smells and tastes sour to us. Big Y milk seems just fine. We are in CT. Why is Target milk like that?

They know they are putting "Something" in it, or as they put it "something else" when they are asked if they are adding Whey protein.

You should try to make cheese with it.

I hate that funky bad milk taste. I don't seem to get this taste with milk in paper cartons. I go all over to find milk in paper cartons.

I haven't noticed the taste of milk much here in Utah lately but it has all tasted quite clean. Sometimes in the past I have had some 2% that had some taste that I liked and I describe it as a distinctively creamy flavor. I was in Connecticut last weekend and I bought a bottle of Whole milk by "Garelick Farms"
It had a very strong flavor that I absolutely loved.
I kept smelling the bottle after I had finished and kept enjoying the aroma. I was weened on Raw milk from Jersey cows and I wonder if this has something to do with a memory of this flavor. Since I have been back to Utah I have been paying attention to the taste of many milks and they all taste like nothing. I taste Coffee for a living and I have a very sensitive palate. I have been a little dissapointed that the milk here in Utah is so clean tasting with little flavor. Maybe that is a good thing for the Dairy farmers to keep the milk generic tasting like nothing in general so no one notices a taste they may love or hate.
I saw a site for breastfeeding where people have been curious about this subject and mention how what mothers eat can effect how picky a child eats after they stop breast feeding.
I am going to keep investigating this subject and keep in touch.

My husband and I live in upstate NY, surrounded by dairy farms. We usually buy local milk, which is fantastic. But some days my husband will pick some up from Target on his way home from work. It's so, so bad. I've noticed that flavor for two years, and he even noticed with the last gallon he bought.

As others on this board have expressed, I'm glad to have found a thread about it!

I was searching for "bitter soapy tasting milk" and found this forum.
I recently had this problem from RAW milk from Organic Pastures in CA.
It happened twice in a row -10 days ago and again this last weekend.
Both times it was about 5 days prior to the expiration date. This seemed strange to me because I was told that raw milk does not go bad, but instead "turns" into buttermilk or cheese naturally and that is is safe to consume. However, this milk did not "turn" to buttermilk, it went bad as in strong soapy bitter smell and taste. I had to spit it out immediately into my glass, it was so bad. The taste was also VERY astringent and the aftertaste lasted a long time.
Raw milk by nature is safe for lactose intolerants to drink because it contains the lactase that is removed in pasturization, however this soapy milk made me feel very lactose intolerant.
I called the diary to find out the cause and am waiting for the owner to call me back. They are in northern CA.
I will post again when I hear what he has to say.

Has anyone had this happen with raw milk? Thanks

I live in North West Florida & just bought a gallon of Dairy Fresh fat free milk & it tastes awful. I also say it tastes "skunky" or "twangy". I stopped buying the store brands becasue of this taste a few years ago but I guess now the "name brands" are selling the same junk... Very sad to have to pour out after paying almost $5 for the gallon. Who can we complain too???

Chicago area. I noticed the chemical taste in Horizon a couple years ago. Organic Valley has been hit or miss. I'm thinking about going back to Oberweis as a pp stated. Stopped buying that because of the cuckoo politician wannabee who owns it. I found this page because I have 2 unbearable Archer Farms Organic Skim milk cartons that taste like chemicals more than milk! I think Stonyfield farms organic was pretty good last time I tried it - has anyone had problems with that milk?

Wow. SO glad this came up on Google. I bought a 1% 1/2 gallon Horizon Organic milk 2 days ago. I had a glass this morning and noticed a chemical taste. I immediately thought of Jet Dry rinse agent and thought perhaps the residue was still on the glass. So I drank some straight from the carton.Still tasted like chemicals. I have had GI problems all day as well (unknown if it's coincidence or related). I think I'm done with milk. It used to be my favorite thing to drink but now I'm concerned.

I've noticed the same chemical taste in Horizon's milks. I don't buy it now. Also, I avoid other milks in cartons. I like those in glass bottles best---or in plastic bottles.

I stumbled upon this forum when looking up why my milk tasted kind of metallic and soapy today. I absolutely cannot stand the taste of pasteurized store milk so I always buy raw milk from a local farmer and it's always rich and sweet, especially throughout the summer. However, the milk I bought yesterday looked really thin and bluish with all the whitish cream floating on top. It looked fine initially when I picked it up. However, I didn't have the ability to get it into the fridge for 1-1/2 hours today. I noticed by the time I got home it had done all that separating and when I went to drink a glass, having been looking forward to it all day, it had that weird taste to it, like I often get from store milk. I called the farm to ask about what might cause it and they said it was either one of two causes. The first was that they had just cleaned out their tank and equipment the morning I got my milk (which was milked that morning as well) so it was possible I had some cleaning contamination in a small degree. However, the biggest contributor was that the milk, being only partially cooled at the time I picked it up, oxidized in the car from exposure to sunlight for that 90 minute timeframe (damn traffic accident and detours preventing me from getting home), which was sped up by not being chilled. Basically, if milk is not chilled quickly and kept out of light while it is chilling, the fats will oxidize and bring out a pronounced metallic or soapy taste. The milk is still good, just has an off taste to it. The farm offered to replace my milk for free, but I agreed to a half price replacement since I feel a lot of it was my fault and not theirs that it went bad. The new gallon tasted perfect! Lesson learned, keep milk out of sunlight and get it into the fridge ASAP!!!!

Seems I found this page the same way many of you have. Googled "Why milk has taken on a wierd taste just recently".
I love milk and just recently in the past week have noticed this chemical ( only way to describe it) taste (especially after taste) to the milk. I am in Thunder Bay, ON Canada. Thought it might be the milk itself so I bought a new supply from a different source making sure it was the latest ( by date) and it still had the same awful taste. Have tried again with the same results. What the heck are they feeding the cows now. Is it the melamine food binder I read earlier or some chemical fed to the cows to fight off all the insane diseases they are subject to now. If this is in milk what is in the meats we eat?

Yeah I'm in the New York City area, and the same thing is happening. We bought skim milk from our local A&P, like we usually do, and this time, it tastes absolutely terrible - like it's full of chemicals.

Given that we are strapped for cash, we kept the gallon even though it tastes horrible, and now, two days past the written expiration, it does not smell or taste sour, but still has that chemical taste. Perhaps it is due to some chemical the cows are eating so that the milk doesn't go bad as easily?

I do feel that this issue is rooted mostly on the cows themselves and their diets. I called up my mother and she feels it's possibly due to a national movement from the FDA, as all parts of the nation are experiencing this. She thinks perhaps it's the consequence of a vaccine farmers are now being forced to use on their cows - and i think she might be right.

I can't believe how many people have experienced what I just experienced with the last two cartons of Organic Valley fat-free milk. I couldn't identify the flavor until I read posts about "ricey" flavored milk. It's as if someone rinsed off the starch from raw rice and added it to the milk, kind of a cardboard flavor with it as well. This is very strange. I thought "Organic" would be the way to go, but now I wonder.

I've experienced this same strange bitter "chemical" taste in Ralphs 2% lactose free milk that is a week before expiration. Been buying this brand for years and never had this bitter and medicinal taste. This is in Agoura Hills, California.

OMG I cannot even begin to say how happy to know that I'm not crazy!! I've noticed this strange, indescribable milk taste as well and I FINALLY found a milk that had the fresh milk taste were all missing..I randomly bought milk from walgreens and the brand is deerfield farms (i think its from Connecticut)IT IS PERFECT! I only bought my milk from there for the past several months and ...sigh..they don't have the deerfield brand anymore! They have Berkeley farms which is disgusting..so I'm back to square one..just got some Clover brand milk from a little family market..we'll see how it lives up to deerfield...:(

I've noticed a strange flavor lately too (I would put it more in the "ricey" category but really it is hard to describe), and I've also noticed that the milk I've bought both times has been "ULTRA PASTURIZED" rather than just pasturized. Has anyone done a taste comparison on this? I think I'll do one soon. This might be the problem.

So I did notice a common connection here...2% milk..so I got to thinking Maybe something in the process of lowering the fat content changes the taste...sure enough I just purchased whole milk vitamin d Lucerne brand in the half gallon cardboard container (usually had the strange taste in the 2%, hated it) and it tastes totally fine! I've gone through 2 gallons in 2 weeks and it tastes fantastic..I don't know if other brands have a better tasting whole milk as well, but thought I would share...ill take a few extra calories for good tasty milk anyway! Hope this helps!

I've noticed the same thing about certain brands of butter. I have a degree in biochemistry, and I've taken classes about the chemistry involved in cooking and flavor. I did some research on what affects butter and milk flavors using google scholar, and I think this article explains pretty well why oxidation or other processes that break up the fatty acids in butter or milk cause the bad taste:
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119706208/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

I am glad to know others are having the same problem! I have noticed a weird metallic taste in the 2% milk. Just basically the milk doesn't taste right. I only notice this with the 2% dairymens milk that I get at Target. I'm in northeast Ohio here. The milk I get from grocery stores is fine, but I always lately notice a difference with the milk from Target.

Wow! I was not aware this was a wide-spread problem. Having been reared on whole milk hand milked by my father twice daily, I occasionally experienced the taste of wild onion milk when our milk cow added a few to her diet. I have continued to enjoy dairy processed 1% or 2% milk every day of my 64 years but had never encountered the bitter chemical taste in milk until August 3, 2010. My 96 yr. old mother receives a half-pint carton of PET whole milk 3 times daily in her diet in a NC nursing home. Her children take turns assisting her with meals. On Tuesday I noticed that her milk seemed thick and coagulated though it was not out-of-date nor did smell sour. Upon tasting it myself, I discovered a strong bitter, chemical taste. I did not swallow it, but was left with a very bad after taste and a lasting sensation of having had alum resting on my tongue. I did report it to the nursing home administrator who has contacted the supplier. I expect to receive some answers to my obvious questions. Finding and reading this blog has been helpful.

Why is my milk from Walgreens (Berkeley Farms) going bad over a week before the spoil date? This is happening all the time. It doesn't happen to Safeway milk and everything else in the fridge is fine. Just wondering if it is an inferior product or Walgreens poor refrigeration is the cause.

Same here. Tuscan 1%. Disgusting. In New York City.

I was blaming it on the Shredded Wheat which is the only time I use milk. My last two gallons have this awful taste. I am writing Tuscan now. Switching brands but to what? Thanks for this post.

I live in Alaska and today I bought a half gallon of Horizon Organic 2% milk. The expiration date is 9/13. I went to bed but couldn't sleep, so I got up and decided to drink some of the milk. I opened the carton and drank directly from it, and it tasted like gasoline or some kind of solvent, I spit it out as it was just horrible, and for a long time afterwards my mouth watered uncontrollably and I've been spitting in a cup as I'm terrified as to what could possibly have been in that milk. It had no bad smell, and the taste was not like soured milk but as I said like gasoline. I am going to contact the company tomorrow to tell them of this, and I will never buy Horizon Organic milk again. In fact I am considering giving up milk altogether, and I've been a big milk drinker all my life. This happened almost 2 hours ago, and I still have this horrid aftertaste and I'm still spitting out my saliva as I'm afraid to swallow it.

Just got a fresh half gallon of lactaid - and i knew that flavor when i took my first sip. tasted like pennies! i remember when i took lunesta 1 night to try and sleep and almost threw up the whole night and next dat from the metallic taste in my mouth. blech! dumping this milk out...

i know lactaid sucks, but its all i could drink, now it just tastes BAD

Hi everyone, I'm a milk producer in Quebec, Canada (we have 12 000 cows at our farm) and the taste you are all talking about is a very known and documented problem.

The bad chemical taste in milk is due to the presence of wild onions in the grain that we feed to our cows. The cereal mix that we use at our farm come from 31 differents local suppliers and each of them have more or less onions than others, wich explain variation in taste trough out the day. The taste is more noticable in skim milk.

Before 1994 in Quebec grain producers were alowed to use preemergent herbicides to eliminate wild onions but now only organic control is allowed wich is more difficult. Organic herb control is affect by rain, wind and temperature and sometime give no results. There is no easy and cheap way to separate wild onions and cereals.

BTW, here in Canada and probably in US also, milk is the most regulated thing you can buy, at our farm, we have automated samplers that take 6 samples per hours and gouverrnement inspectors take a copy of the logs from the computer 3 times a week. Also, all equiment (pumps, piping,processing, feeders and tank) are clean every night with biological enzyme and no chemical are use.

Hope that my english is not too bad and that you learned a little from my 32 years in the buisness.

Sorry, should have read 1200 cows, not 12000 , that would be a hell of a farm !

I have not been able to find who to complain to about the chemical taste in calif milk, however I have been wondering if this tasre comes from the cleansing procedure at the dairy when they clean the tubing that the milk passes through from the cow to the stainless steel holding tank or from the cleaning of the transports tank. Any comments along this line?

I have stopped buying Great Value Milk entirely. I am not certain about this, but it seems to me that it started tasting bad around the same time as the expiration dates became farther out. Have any of you tasted the "shelf stable" milk? It is not refrigerated in the store, but on a shelf. To me, the unpleasent taste in Walmart milk is reminiscent of of the shelf stable milk. Do you think dairies are adding some of the stabilizers to extend to life of the milk?

I started drinking Horizon Organic Milk about 6 months ago. Within the last couple of months I've detected an aftertaste similar to the way a pet flea collar smells in two separate cartons. In a 4 year old thread on another messageboard someone complained of a bandaid taste in this brand.

I have loved milk all my life but don't usually drink it because I'm not sure it's good for you, although chocolate milk is irristable and can replace a dessert. I started making yogurt about a month ago and have become hyper aware of the taste of milk and am perplexed about it not being so good. I read many articles online about ultra pasturized milk and try not to buy it. However, it seems to have taken over the whole dairy section. I can only get non-ultra at Publix (Greenwise) and Ingles (I think it was Organic Valley). My brother just came home with organic milk from Walmart, their brand, and it's ultra and tastes funny. It comes only in 1/2 gallon sizes making it more expense than the other two that come in gallon sizes.

Glad I found this website so I know I'm not crazy. I'm going to try raw milk but have to drive 45 minutes to get it.

Bought 2% Archer Farms Organic from Target this week and the odor and taste was so strong we couldn't drink it. Chemical, almost like lighter fluid, like tin. I wondered if it traveled in a tanker that hadn't been thoroughly cleaned. I've bought this before with no problems, but I may just switch to our local dairy. With a 2-1/2 year old we are going through oodles more milk lately. But it creeps me out to no end wondering what the heck is in this stuff.

Location: Columbus, OH.
Milk: Horizon Organic Skim
Just purchased from Whole Foods in Upper Arlington. Upon opening, and tasting, it had a medicine-like taste with very strong after taste effect - something like a liquid anti-biotic mixed with cough syrup type taste.

It is the lighting where the milk is kept in the grocery store. If the milk is directly under the florescent tubes, it tastes bad. Try to buy where the milk is getting indirect lighting from florescent lights. Maybe the plastic for the milk containers has changed within the last few years to allow this to happen? But I am 100% convinced that the nasty taste is due to the lighting. There is even a commercial lighting company that has florescent tubes desinged to not affect the flaor of milk. One company is Promolux Lighting International. Check it out.

Hello. I have also noticed an odd change in milk in the last few months. How I would describe the taste would be like the dairies took a bunch of powdered milk and mixed it up and filled their cartons (cardbord or plastic, it's happened to me in both) with that instead of real milk. It reminds me of powdered milk that I had off and on as a kid, but with more of a bite. It doesn't taste smooth and sweet like milk should, but bitter and bitey. But not like it's gone sour. I can smell it as soon as I open the milk as well. It is a different smell. Again, reminds me of powdered milk.

I only drink organic and have noticed it randomly in Trader Joe's Organic and Smith's brand of Organic (so far I've only noticed it in 1%, so I will try fat-free and 2%). I live in Nevada by the way, just for reference on where all this is happening.

Anyway, it's very frustrating because it ruins how my coffee or espresso tastes! Something is up. I have never noticed this before in 42 years of life. I may start writing milk companies (not that it will do anything)just so they can be aware that we notice something.

Just wanted to add my comments about how it tasted to me, in the event anyone else noticed the powdered milk taste, but with a more bitter afterbite. Maybe I'll check back here off and on to see if there are any new discoveries. Thanks for all the posts.

I'm in Toronto and have also noticed a strange chemical taste in milk in the last year or so. First, I thought it was the cheap brand of milk I was buying, so I've switched brands a few times, but to no avail. I notice the taste even in the most expensive, organic and microfiltered brands.

I know its not my fridge because the nasty taste is present in every new bag I open. What is this weird chemical taste coming from?

I have been noticing the same thing for a couple of years now so you are not crazy. In fact I found this thread because i googled "why does my milk taste weird" Every now and again from every brand I've tried I get an off batch with almost a sawdust after taste. I can't explain why but I am an avid milk drinker and I know it to be true.

I've also noticed this, I've been going crazy about it also, because I am in my teen years and need milk. I've noticed that the first day the milk will taste fine, but usually the third or fourth it has this taste, like a sour taste. You can taste it raw (plain, glass of milk, cereal) and you can taste it cooked (oatmeal). It's a very gross, almost sour taste, but the strange thing is, I live with my family, mom, dad, and brother, and only I taste it. At first I thought I was trippin' til I read these comments.

Great thread!!! I've been noticing the same thing -- milk that is fresh, but tastes so bad that I have to just throw it out! Stonyfield Farms milk still tastes good. Whatever they're doing, I hope they keep doing it!

i bought horizon organic at target 2 days ago and it smelled and tasted very nasty. It wasn't spoiled because it did not split when boiling it but it smelled like a barnyard and a chemical smell and taste. Really weird and unusually. I bought this brand before and never had a problem.

We've had this problem in Colorado as well. Safeway, King Soopers, Wal-Mart, Sunflower Market, Target, Costco, etc. all have this problem. We've gone so far as returning the open jugs to the store for an exchange but only a few times because it's such a pain in the rear.

I just got a half gallon of lactose free milk from Albertson's in Oregon, the carton date is feb 17 2011 it tastes skunky, the same aftertaste as skunky beer. I microwave my milk for my coffee and the first day that got rid of the flavor. this morning the milk felt slimy and microwaving did not get rid of the taste.

I just got a half gallon of lactose free milk from Albertson's in Oregon, the carton date is feb 17 2011 it tastes skunky, the same aftertaste as skunky beer. I microwave my milk for my coffee and the first day that got rid of the flavor. this morning the milk felt slimy and microwaving did not get rid of the taste.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one with this problem!! I moved to Boulder, CO in June and noticed that the milk had a funny taste. I just chalked it up to a bad gallon but after a few different stores had the same problem I've pretty much stopped drinking milk. This makes me sad because I LOVE a glass of milk morning, noon, or night. I've lived in IL, KY, and FL and do not remember milk tasting like this. I'm honestly ready to try soy milk...I don't know what else to do. My husband thinks I'm going crazy, he drinks it and says it's fine; why can only certain people taste it I wonder?

I have noticed the change in the taste of milk over the last several years but only googled today after a conversation with a co-worker who says she has noticed a change too.

I was a huge milk drinker in my teens and twenties but started to notice a taste that made me think of like an over-strong milk flavor. Honestly, it tastes like the smell of a dairy farm (with an undertone of manure-awful, sickening). I haven't noticed the chemical taste others mention but wonder if it is closer to the "ricey" flavor others have mentioned. I can taste it all of the major dairy brands even in yogurt and cheese.

I switched to organic after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma-my theory being that if most cows are eating cornfeed diets and life in the CAFO that changed the taste of milk and hopefully the organic cows get more hay and grass (you just don't see grazing dairy cows like you used to...did you notice?). Organic usually tastes better to me. Sometimes I still taste it though.

I also changed from skim to 2% with Omega-3s (after reading some posts, the increased fat in the 2% plus the omega-3s may be helping the taste for me). It seems to taste better and I can eat cereal again but still cannot drink a plain glass of milk.

Thank you for this thread. I hope those that wrote to dairy companies will post any feedback they get.

I've had this experience twice now, the latest with a gallon of fat free milk from Oaktree. I'd describe it as an old cooking oil taste. If you've ever smelled old cooking oil, that scent is similar to the weird taste in this milk. I've experienced the same taste in locally mass-produced bakery style linzer tarts, and I attributed it to them using old oil. Now I'm thinking that they perhaps used dairy products from the same producers as this milk, because it is the same off-taste. I wound up throwing the tarts out and will be doing so with this milk as well.

I'm in PA and am having the same problem. At first it was just from one Turkey Hill store - the other local Turkey Hill store was fine. But this week I got a gallon from Harrisbury Dairies, and it had the same "off" taste. It's driving me nuts, because milk is basically all I drink. Why doesn't anyone know what is causing this???

I'm in NYC and have noticed that virtually all of the milk I buy here has this taste. The only milk that doesn't is Horizon Organic and milk from Ronnybrook (a small, local farm that uses glass bottles).

It seems like it's from the container, but I'm not sure. Either way, I can't drink milk without holding my nose.

It i Winter here in Fern Park, FL a suburb of Orlando. When I was in Georgia, Statesboro I noticed the differences from time to time. Now in Florida, I have the second container of what I call bad taste milk. This one is so bad not even Hershey's Chocolate will cover up the bad taste. I either my milk from Win-Dixie, or Walmart. I can't remember if the Win-Dixie has been bad, but this last container from Walmart is just horrible and has to be thrown out. I wonder if anyone has researched and actually tested what is actually in the milk that is causing this? If you have please let me know.

This is happening to us. I live in Tennessee. We have bought at least 4 gallons that had a weird or spoiled taste. this has happened over the last 3 months. ??? Somethings not right.

This is interesting because I noticed this problem also for the past few years, thinking I just didn't like milk. I switched to Horizon(bought at Target) and it tastes much better. I am currently in Denmark, where my boyfriend is from. Their milk here tastes great! It's nothing like any of the milk I have drank in the U.S.-I am from Omaha, Nebraska. My boyfriend has always found it very odd that our milk in the U.S. doesn't spoil as quickly as it does here in Denmark. They also have very strict laws here about what gets put into their food, no additives or anything..nothing is fortified with all kinds of additional nutrients. It's also a law here that they have to list on the packaging of the food where it came from. I wish we had laws like that in the U.S. - and better milk. Aside from this, if you wonder where our food comes from(and what they are doing to it)-watch a documentary called "Food Inc."you can find it on youtube. It's kind of scary, to know what kind of meat we are eating. Sorry about straying from the subject of milk, but I assume some of you might be interested in knowing what we are putting into our bodies. Makes me sad that we can't get realiable information about where our food comes from-even the "fresh" stuff, and don't know whether or not it's really organic.

It is unbelievable to me that people all over this country have experienced this strange flavor and there is NO official explanation! I started drinking skim milk to lower my cholesterol, and got used to and even like the taste. But the last year or so buying milk has been a crap-shoot; I'd estimate that 25-30% of the gallons of milk I buy have that funky, "greasy" taste - I'd assumed that it was just poor quality control, with extra fat getting through to the skim milk, but it was NOT a pleasant taste, and nothing like I remember from whole milk. I haven't detected any pattern to it - I've tasted it in Sam's Club, Aldi, discount food, Wal-Mart, Target, and premium food retailer's milk. I believe that in St. Louis all of the milk comes from 1 or 2 dairies so that may explain why it's found all over this area, but my biggest concern is WHAT IS THAT TASTE? People should really start taking the milk back to the store - then the retailers would get interested in finding a solution!

I have been battling this flavour/bad taste for a few years and had found certain brands seemed OK. Not anymore. I think the August 2010 post about the inability to use certain herbicides and thus the wild onion influence and the above wild garlic comment make sense to me. Tasted like dandelion to me that's why I think the wild onion/garlic is the problem flavor that I have encountered. I have gone from drinking 2 liters a day to none for a couple of weeks now.

Milch above says complain to the retailers. Their customer service desks could care less about any complaints. "do you want your money back or replacement?" That's it. No problem resolution. No analysis, no brains, no initiative, nada!
I even wrote to a supplier and they stated the retailer must be the problem so contact the retailer. They didn't care about a complaint about their product!!! Unbelieveable.

Anyway if this keeps up I can no longer drink milk after 62 years of enjoyment.

Interesting link on New York Times I found. I'm not sure if antibiotics have to do with the taste, but it does have to do with milk and us wondering what is in it.... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/26milk.html?src=me&ref=business

I was really glad to find this forum. I don't know if it's me or a new additive to the milk out there. About a month ago, milk (I'm lactose intollerant and only drink Lactaid milk) just started to taste hideous - like moldy wood. A month later, I tried again and it tasted normal. Now, it seems I'm stuck with the horrible flavor. I wish I could like soy milk, but I never have - which is not really all that important. I just wish i had an explaination as to why this happened.

I googled 'funny tasting milk' after just now realizing we have still ANOTHER odd-tasting gal. of fat free milk from Wal-Mart. I've been feeling like we're playing some kind of milk roulette -- sometimes good, sometimes not. Seems that about every 4th gal. or so is tainted. I can barely tolerate the taste, but neither can I bring myself to throw it out. Not sure how I came up with this, but to me it tastes like it has been run through a cotton rag. UGH! I actually hold my breath to minimize tasting it. Pretty much takes any pleasure out of having a glass of milk, bowl of cereal, or whatever. Now I'm discouraged to see how many different brands seem to have the same/similar problem. Great...

Yes! I have noticed this too. I have bought Horizon organic milk for almost 2 years since i was pregant with my son and it always tasted so good. The last 2 times I had bought whole and skim milk for us, it smelled like chemicals! I thought it was just me but when i tasted it I about gagged! I threw out both containers. I buy out milk at Krogers. What is going on!?

My wife and I have noticed this problem off and on for years. It only seems to be in the skim. Any fat in the milk seems to cover up the bad taste for us. I just have an observation to make. This problem was very wide spread in 08 when grain prices were high and we are seeing it now again when grain prices are very high. Maybe dairies are feeding grain byproducts instead of just grain to try to remain profitable.

Remember the big drought in Russia earlier this year, and then in China, and the floods in Australia that ruined a lot of wheat. Grain prices are high right now because of bad weather. Farmers are going to plant grain, wheat and corn, this spring in record amounts. It is impossible to buy corn seed right now because it is sold out. Prices will come down next year. The best cure for high prices is high prices. Consumption goes down and production increases. Just takes a little time for adjustments to be made.

I've noticed this problem on and off for 40 years. Here in NJ it's been fine for the last several years, but suddenly last week it's back. The milk tastes like plastic again. I notice the plastic taste in certain bottled water, so I always just assumed the same thing was happening to the milk, however I could never understand why the plastic taste would get in to the milk some of the time but not all of the time. Sounds like it has more to do with what the cows are eating. Anyone work in a dairy? We need someone to take a taste sample closer to the cow.

OMG here in Australia its horrible!. We have so many brands coming in now. I first noticed a weird after taste in 2005, with local brands. Later on all other brands starting tasting weird. Also recently I have purchased a full coffee machine with throthing ability. for some reason some milks troth better than others, and some just sit there and boil!! WTF is going on!!!! are they putting mixed up soapy water on the tubes!? this has only happened recently. what the f*u*K are farmers doing.

For about two months now I've been noticing a weird taste to the 1% milk I normally buy! Again today I bought a new 3 litre bag of milk only to find the same weird taste to it. It's really turning me off of milk . It leaves a really bad after taste in your mouth.
What is happening here??

For about two months now I've been noticing a weird taste to the 1% milk I normally buy! Again today I bought a new 3 litre bag of milk only to find the same weird taste to it. It's really turning me off of milk . It leaves a really bad after taste in your mouth.
What is happening here??

I'm 60ish and live on Long Island, NY and have been a big milk drinker all my life. Lately (over the past 10-15 years or so) I've noticed milk quality getting more and more variable. I would buy a cardboard or plastic container and right away would notice a very disagreeable off-taste. Here it seems to have started with Elmhurst Dairy and Tuscan brands. Once in a while I would notice it in other brands but it seemed to be very common in these two. The milk didn't taste sour (like other posters here, I'm very sensitive to soured milk products, they turn my stomach) but it had a strange taste to it. I guess you could call it an oniony (or garlicy) taste or maybe a chemical taste. With both these brands about 4 out of every 5 containers tasted this way. Needless to say, I stopped buying these two brands a couple of years ago so I can't comment on their quality now. While I haven't seen Elmhurst Dairy milk anywhere for some time now (did they go out of business?) the Tuscan brand is hard to avoid. On LI it's absolutely everywhere! It seems that 99% of all the delis on LI as well as the 7-11s carry only Tuscan milk, which, by itself, is very suspicious. I feel this is a matter which really deserves to be investigated by the law. Especially now, considering that most supermarkets here are no longer open 24 hours and if you run out of milk in the wee morning hours you have no choice but to take your chances on Tuscan from 7-11 or some all-night deli. But the problem is spreading. After reading these posts, I took a chance on a quart of milk from Walmart. It was awful! It had a worse and quite different off-taste than the usual, more of a harsh, chemical taste. So I took it back and got a refund. Also, a couple of weeks ago I noticed that a half-gallon of Stop'n'Shop brand 2% had that oniony-garlicy taste so I took it back, too. Now I'm getting worried, I could always depend on Stop'n'Shop milk in the past but something seems to be changing now. However, on the plus side, I have noticed a couple of things which may help people. (1) I haven't noticed any off-taste in half'n'half (from many brands) and I drink a lot of this. (Mixed 50-50 with Oregon Chai Tea concentrate, it's terrific!). (2) I strongly suggest to anyone who buys a container of bad milk that, rather than dump the milk, you take it back to where you bought it and demand your money back. If everyone does this you can be sure the stores will put pressure on their suppliers to do something about the problem. Who knows, our graftinment might even wake up and take notice. Miracles do happen.

I'm 60ish and live on Long Island, NY and have been a big milk drinker all my life. Lately (over the past 10-15 years or so) I've noticed milk quality getting more and more variable. I would buy a cardboard or plastic container and right away would notice a very disagreeable off-taste. Here it seems to have started with Elmhurst Dairy and Tuscan brands. Once in a while I would notice it in other brands but it seemed to be very common in these two. The milk didn't taste sour (like other posters here, I'm very sensitive to soured milk products, they turn my stomach) but it had a strange taste to it. I guess you could call it an oniony (or garlicy) taste or maybe a chemical taste. With both these brands about 4 out of every 5 containers tasted this way. Needless to say, I stopped buying these two brands a couple of years ago so I can't comment on their quality now. While I haven't seen Elmhurst Dairy milk anywhere for some time now (did they go out of business?) the Tuscan brand is hard to avoid. On LI it's absolutely everywhere! It seems that 99% of all the delis on LI as well as the 7-11s carry only Tuscan milk, which, by itself, is very suspicious. I feel this is a matter which really deserves to be investigated by the law. Especially now, considering that most supermarkets here are no longer open 24 hours and if you run out of milk in the wee morning hours you have no choice but to take your chances on Tuscan from 7-11 or some all-night deli. But the problem is spreading. After reading these posts, I took a chance on a quart of milk from Walmart. It was awful! It had a worse and quite different off-taste than the usual, more of a harsh, chemical taste. So I took it back and got a refund. Also, a couple of weeks ago I noticed that a half-gallon of Stop'n'Shop brand 2% had that oniony-garlicy taste so I took it back, too. Now I'm getting worried, I could always depend on Stop'n'Shop milk in the past but something seems to be changing now. However, on the plus side, I have noticed a couple of things which may help people. (1) I haven't noticed any off-taste in half'n'half (from many brands) and I drink a lot of this. (Mixed 50-50 with Oregon Chai Tea concentrate, it's terrific!). (2) I strongly suggest to anyone who buys a container of bad milk that, rather than dump the milk, you take it back to where you bought it and demand your money back. If everyone does this you can be sure the stores will put pressure on their suppliers to do something about the problem. Who knows, our graftinment might even wake up and take notice. Miracles do happen.

We live in Reno, Nv and have noticed this for a couple of years. We would not buy milk in the one gallon plastic jugs because of the "odd" taste. Now our local dairy, Model Dairy has stopped puting milk in the 1/2 gallon cardboard containers forcing us to buy 1 gallon plasic jugs which have the "odd" taste. We tried Walmart Great Value milk in the 1 gallon jugs and it is a gamble. We will have about a month or so with milk that has no "odd" taste or smell but then all of a sudden we will get a couple of gallons that have the "odd" taste and smell. We have tried to look at the dates of the milk and have often times found that two different dates will be different. So lets say one has a date of the 25th and has no "odd" taste then we will buy some that has a date of 28th and it will have the "odd" taste. What is going on? We have tried milk from different stores and have found the same results. Milk is too expensive to just throw out its like driving down the highway and throwing $5 dollar bills out the window. Could it be that when they change out the hoses in the dairy the new ones give off the "odd" taste and smell till they are broken in? or is it something else? "Something Evil This Way Comes" !!

We live in the Atlanta area and have always loved milk. We have always bought Mayfield milk, which costs a bit more than store brands, but it's always been worth the extra cost. We generally go through 2-3 gallons a week. The last 6 or 7 gallons I've bought have had a strange taste well before the expiration date. This is not a sour taste. We're switching brands now to see if that makes a difference, but we hate to give up our loyalty to Mayfield...so strange to have a long string of bad gallons.

I started working out of town every other week and during that time, I can't drink milk. I'm working in Rochester, NY and I have tried at least 4 different brands of milk and they all have this AWFUL taste! I don't smell a difference, but from the first sip, it is so disgusting.

Live in Lafayette Colorado, I first noticed an odd chemical smell in my refrigerator - then noticed a chemical taste in my bowl of cereal. Horizon 2% milk - have not had this problem before - but if you hold the carton to your nose, you will smell the same odor. I thought maybe it was the fridge - but moved the cartons to other fridge and you could smell it there.YUK

I can't believe this thread has been going for almost two years! After using nearly the whole carton of milk in baking and bottle feeding to my pet baby goat kid (5 weeks old), we found that the milk was unbearable to drink (Dairyland Skim). Chemical/poison taste and smell overwhelmed the milk taste. Expirey date is today. The taste actually goes up through nostrils, and all common sense says "spit it out! Poison!" I have looked up Contact #s for the company, but it is afterhours now. Will call tomarrow. I am fearful for my pet, afraid I have been feeding her poison all day!. Please contact the companies that you buy your bad tasting milk from and complain.

so i was just googling " why does milk taste different" and came across this. i thought i was just crazy! lol. but i definitly notice a taste chance. i love milk and drink it all the time. only skim, because 2% tastes spoiled to me. AND only Roundy;s brand from Pick N Save. Kemps skim is discusting. Golden Gurnsey, gross. Maybe this should be brought to attention. Although documentaries like Food INC go completely ignored by our gov't, im sure this would also. guess ill just pray theres nothing thats going to kill me. i love it too much to give up.

My Husband and I were buying great value milk from wal-mart since it doesn't have growth hormone added to it. We bought a gallon of chocolate and a gallon of whole milk. The chocolate had a very strong chemical taste and was poured down the drain, the whole milk went sour 2 days before the expiration date, which I consider very odd. I love milk but, won't be drinking it anymore.

I was so glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks most milk tastes awful now. The milk in plastic containers tastes like plastic. My one store that had paper cartons went to plastic jugs maybe a year ago. Now their milk tastes like plastic. I have found that Aldi's and Costco milk don't taste too bad.

I make sure to buy regular pasturized milk - NOT ultra pasturized - that stuff tastes AWFUL - kind of sour or something. Also, I try to buy milk that claims that they don't use the growth hormones.

We have a couple of farms not too far away from us that sell milk in glass containers. One of them even delivers to your home. I won't buy it. You would think that their milk would be great - but it tastes like chemicals. I am wondering if they use chemicals to clean their equipment & pipes or whatever and it doesn't get flushed out properly. If so, who knows what is in that milk.

Just experienced this for the first time here in UT. I purchased an individual sized Market Pantry 2% milk from Target.... I think "ricey" describes the taste well. It wasn't good, bareable, but I didn't finish it because the thought of what might be in it worries me.

I have noticed this for years and thought it was just me. I gradually had to keep eliminating brands until it came down to only Deans that didn't taste bad. About 6-8 months ago that changed too. The frequency of bad Deans kept increasing and I wrote to them about it. They said it was oxidation. BS. I started drinking Piggly Wiggly milk and have had no problems until today. We are big milk drinkers so we usually buy 2-3 gallons at a time. My husband bought 2 gallons of milk yesterday from Pig. (6-17). The first gallon was great. The second gallon we just opened is horrible. It doesn't taste ricey or soapy. I can't even describe it. Both gallons had identical markings "sell by 06-22-11 55-96A 18:09". By the way, the Deans milk sits right next to the Pig milk in the same cooler. Why was the Deans milk so foul for so long? Why did it take so long for the Pig milk to have problems and why at all?

I've noticed this past month the milk has had a strange after taste and now it smells and tastes a little like spoiled milk. It started with the Kroger brand milk, than the Wal-mart brand milk, and now even Aldi's brand milk tastes weird. The milk with the least taste is Aldi's then Wal-mart but Kroger's brand is so bad that it even smells like it tastes and smelling it makes me gag. I live in the Dallas metro-plex area here in Texas.

I too have noticed an odd aftertaste with milk. I describe it as tasting like a band-aid. I remember as a kid the taste of a band-aid if you chewed on it, which if you think about it would be some sort of plastic? It's disturbing whatever it is.

Im here in sacramento ca and Im having the same problem. I drink skim milk, for years and never had a problem with taste. But lately it all taste bad. Its an after taste that I cant describe. Perhaps they need to put the bull on a better diet or something.
Im going to start complaining to the stores and the dairies. I love milk and dont want to stop drinking it.
I thought it was just me. Glad to know Ive got company.

Could this (fish oil being added) have anything to do with it?
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_n231/ai_18810448/

Here in CT, I have noticed the bad taste more & more, but almost always only with Garelick Farms brand. My kids usually are more sensitive to it than my husband & I. I think it almost gets worse the longer the milk is kept, but it is NOT a sour taste & I am not talking old milk, just 3-4 days. I think of it as a bitter taste, but faint. I do remember milk tasting similarly when I was a kid (1970's/80's) and my mom would say that her grandfather would tell her that it was when the cows were eating rye! I don't know, but I am growing tired of it!

I stumbled on this thread searching for information on Archer Farm/Target milk cuz there is only one store near me in Lake Geneva, WI that sells only tiny bottles and I was trying to find bigger bottles or if it's sold under other packaging. Struck out on that and I don't ever drink milk however I do buy half and half and heavy cream in wax paper containers for coffee and ice cream and they never taste bad and I've used them even open and a month past the expiration date and never an odor or a taste. I wonder if it could be some lubricant or cleaning solution used on the machines that make the plastic bottles? Weird thread for sure. I know my mom stopped drinking and buying milk too about a year ago now I wonder if it was a few bad batches that put her off.

i usually buy the mountain dairy brand milk here in las vegas from smiths grocery and have never had a problem in any percentage. today however i bought a carton quart of anderson dairy vitamin d whole milk and it has that taste that so many of you are describing. im going to drink it and i'll let you know if it kills me. im just going to stick to my usual next time though.

I have noticed this for many years now. The chemical taste in milk. I've almost always purchased milk in gallon-size containers. I'll try switching to paper carton half gallon size and see what happens. I am pretty sure the taste is caused by something that they use in the milk industry to clean their equipment. I work in the flour milling industry and can tell you how all the flour gets intermixed and avoiding chemicals like potassium bromide is next to impossible. As far as the milk goes, it tastes soapy. I'm going to buy different brands and only in cartons from now on. Will let those in Denver know if anything I find helps.

I can't believe that I found this online because I drink hot tea every day and about 8 months ago I began tasting a gross after taste and I thought it was just the Walmart brand. It's not. My family thinks I'm making it up. I went to N.C. last weekend and the hot tea was great so what is up?

OMG! I bought a gallon of 1% low fat Horizon organic milk from Kroger and sure enough it had a disgusting chemical grassy toxic taste. It was not spoiled and very fresh milk that the milk delivery man just put on the shelf from the supply truck. I googled reviews hoping to find why it had this weird taste and found this site. Its a horrible taste and I am glad I am not alone. Sad that we all have experienced this but at least I know its not all in my mind.

Something is very wrong with this brand. I have milked cows before and I know the taste of natural milk. Something is NOT so organic about this milk I tasted.

Just could be another government experimental
project,virouses, mind control, etc: I just
might get in touch with the FDA.

I was trying to research why my recently bought gallon of milk poured out with mucus-like strings. I've never seen milk like that before. I also have had about half of the milk I've bought for a couple years go bad or funky a few days after buying, way before the expiry. It has come from different places and has been different brands. I live in Phoenix, and figured it was because it got warm enough in transit that bacteria had it's way with it. It's amazing to see these responses and realize I'm not the only one. I don't have much worth writing for with the exception that I feel like there is strength in numbers (of comments).
And I hate to say it John (comment above) but a fair amount of people on the board of the FDA are also on the boards of chemical companies (rbst anyone?) so there may be some conflict of interest there. I wish you luck though!
Hopefully if enough of us fuss enough, the milk makers will take note. Thanks for providing the forum to post on!

I have noticed Maola milk tastes horrible and my son cannot stand to drink it. Now My Essentials brand milk from Food Lion is starting to have the same taste. I don't know what it is, but I will go to a different store if all they have is Maola. I can't drink it.

I am so glad I found this, I live in houston tx and about five years ago I noticed milk was just nasty no matter how new it was and the date never mattered! Im a milk lover, I drink it everyday! I will know in the 1st drink if its bad and i have wasted gallons of milk pouring it down the sink! Its like winning the lotto when I get good gallon! I will try to make it chocolate milk when its got that weird taste but u can't do anything to get rid of it! I can't believe we don't know why this is happening!

I have always loved milk. Lately I cannot find milk that I can drink. The last three gallons have all been poured down the drain. They were all purchased from different stores in Fresno, Ca. One from Walmart, one from Savemart and one from Trader Joes. I have given up on drinking milk until someone comes up with a solution to the problem. I will also advise family and friends of my findings in this article. I don't think anyone should be drinking rocket fule.

It doesn't seem to matter the brand or the store, it's happening everywhere. I am appalled by how wide spread this seems to be. I emailed the Dairy Farmers of America, hopefully they take this seriously!

I grew up in South Seattle and I used to notice this in cartons back in the 80s. It seemed like every other one was bad. When I moved to a different part of town the milk was almost always okay. I used to joke about them sending bad milk to the poorer part of town. I did kind of wonder if there was something to that. Recently I started buying cheaper milk since I am unemployed. The first one was good but everyone since has been bad. Some after opening and being in the fridge would get better. I had bought organic and it was almost always okay. I was also buying Darigold in cartons and it was okay probably 95% of the time. I think I will go back to doing that.

The dairy mark on the bad milk, Fred Meyer and Mountain Dairy brands, was 4145 on both. Bought Darigold and it was really good. The dairy mark was 4134.

I've been going crazy for awhile trying to figure out why our milk (not yet expired) has such a weird, unpleasent taste. To me it seems to taste like they pour the milk into DUSTY containers. I dont really know how to explain it! I used to love to sit down and drink a nice refreshing glass of milk, but now there's really nothing nice and refreshing about it! I've tried Jewel, Walgreens, Sams Club, Target....its a hit sometimes but mostly a miss! ;(

My son first noticed the weird taste in a gallon of PET 2 percent. It just happened again. Taking it back to HT tomorrow-it's gross. A stong flavor that you can smell a little bit and a bad aftertaste. It is not sour. We are in Winston-Salem.

I jsut drank some milk today and it tasted so bad i nearly threw up. Bought it at Holiday and its so nasy im going to get rid of it.

Berkley Farms milk ALWAYS goes bad more than a week before it should. This is because they LIE about thier dates when shipping and printing their milk.

Do a test, buy a small Berkely farms milk, I bet it won't last more than 2 days before it turns to cheese. Case in point, its the worst milk ever and a wasted purchase. Nothing like going to pour milk into a bowl of cereal in the morning and giant chunks of cheese come barreling out and you're saying to yourself WTF, I just got this milk yesterday. You look at the date and its got 1 1/2 weeks posted on it.

I always notice a strong band-aid after taste with organic milk and sometimes organic yogurt. The products are never even near their expiration date. I drink soy milk now, but bought some Organic Valley to make pudding. It still tasted like band-aids - even when heated. Creepy.

I find a chemical smell and aftertaste in the Kirkland Signiture organic milk from Costco here in Maui, Hawaii. The horrible smell and taste is not consistant though because sometimes it smells and tastes just like milk should. I did purchase a case of 3 half gallons recently from Costco and all three half gallons were horrible smelling and tasting..not like they were rotton but like they have a chemical in them. I went back to Costco and bought another case of milk hoping that this case would be different but it was the same. My 6 year old daughter refuses to drink it and it has turned me off from wanting to eat cereal or even put it in my tea.

Haven't noticed a "chemical" taste/smell, but a while back I did notice that my formerly reliable Kroger store brand whole milk tasted crummy. I looked on the carton and noticed that it contained whole milk AND skim milk. The PURITY brand is supposed to be good, but it's too expensive for us. I've just this week tried the Aldi house brand in our area, and I almost drank a whole gallon in one sitting, it tasted so good -- like MILK!! I looked on the carton and saw it contained only whole milk, not cut with skim milk or anything else. But it sounds like the problem you guys are experiencing is more than just milk getting skimmed or cut down? What is it?

Like many who have posted I too am relieved to know that it is not just me. I describe the taste as a bleachy taste. Some of these posts are freaking me out! We've been drinking Costco's Kirkland 1-2% ups 096619000043. I live in Northern CA.

We switched to Organic skim milk a year ago. I have thrown out more milk than I ever care to admit. Tonight I opened up a half gallon of Horizon skim milk and the "rotten egg" smell blew me away. Today is Halloween and the expiration date is 12-21-11. Crazy!! My entire family thinks it's disgusting and we LOVE to eat cereal. I may have to switch to almond milk or something other than cow's milk. It's very concerning and very costly to keep tossing this milk. I hope one day we understand why this change has occurred. would love to continue drinking cow's milk, but the smell and taste has completely changed for the worse.

I just ran across your post after a quick google search for "milk tastes funny". I live in the suburbs of Chicago and have been experiencing this horrible tasting milk for years. I thought it was just the way certain brands tasted and kept switching brands till I found one that didn't taste bad. I've had good luck with the inexpensive brand that our local Woodman's sold, but lately every 2nd or 3rd gallon we buy tastes so horrible I can't even drink it with chocolate syrup! Every morning this week my glass of chocolate milk has been getting smaller and smaller. I keep hoping that I can at least choke down at small amount of it, but this week it's been so bad that I just end up pouring it down the drain. Is there nothing we can do to stop this?!? I (used to) enjoy drinking milk, and now that my baby is being weened onto drinking cow's milk vs. breast milk I'm worried about his health. We've been buying Horizon Organic milk for him, but I am not happy with the fact that it's ultra pasteurized and shelf stable! Real milk needs to be refrigerated! This change in milk flavor is very creepy and we're seeing it happen right before our eyes. I know the food industry is famous for adding horrible stuff to our food, but the fact that the change in flavor is THIS obvious and no one is talking about it is terrifying! Do they think the public won't mind their milk tasting like garbage? I wonder if we all just stopped buying it, would they return to making real milk again?

I ran into the same problem for a couple years now in the Fort Myers area in Florida. First time was milk I bought at a Target store. The milk didn't have a sour smell but some kind of chemical smell, it tasted just like it smelled, NASTY ! Bought another gallon a week later and again it happened, this is before the date stamp on the bottle, that's what made it so weird. Now I'm having the same problem with milk from my local Sweet Bay store. Their milk use to last a whole week after the date stamp on the bottle, when it did go bad,it had that normal sour smell to it. Not anymore, they just changed the name on the bottle from Sweet Bay to My Essentials. Now it's getting that chemical smell I tasted a couple years ago, from the milk I got at the Target Store. I complained to the manager at Sweet Bay, and he kind of told me I was imagining it, because they didn't change the dairy or the quality of the milk. His answer doesn't satisfy me, because i'm not imagining anything.If I have to go to the Health Dept. or the News Station I WILL because I'm a milk lover and that SMELL IS DISGUSTING and NOT NORMAL.

I work in the dairy industry.
The band-aid smell/taste that is sometimes encountered in milk is normally due to contamination of the liquid milk by chemicals, which most often happens at the dairy farm. The distinctive medicinal/bandage/band-aid smell is caused by chlorophenols. Often this happens because the farmer is using a disinfectant in higher concentrations than is recommended. The milk does not even have to come in contact with the disinfectant. If a farmer has done a large-scale disinfecting of his facilities to the point that the smell of the disinfectant is very noticeable in the air, the milk only has to be exposed to the air for a brief period before it will absorb the smell/taste. Another way this happens is if some of the disinfectant splashes up onto a cow's udder immediately before milking. This can happen if footbath chemicals splash up onto the udder when a cow steps into a footbath.

Proper selection of disinfecting chemicals -- as well as using them as directed -- at the dairy farm will normally eliminate this problem. In some regions, several brands of milk will source their raw milk from the same dairy farms. When this is the case, only one or two farms can ruin the quality of the milk for several brands. This is not only the fault of the farms that are producing the tainted milk, but it's also the fault of the milk brands involved, because this is an easy thing to catch with proper quality controls.

None of you are imagining any of this. That putrid smelling, undrinkable milk is nearly everywhere. It seems reasonable the likely cause is either due to diet manipulation of the cows, or possibly something occurring in the production of some types of milk containers.

For example, I have personally noticed for well over 10 years, this phenomenon only occurs in opaque plastic milk containers - not cardboard nor glass - which refutes the notion of the animals' dietary intake to some extent.

Second, it does not occur consistently with all opaque plastic, but only some. I strongly suspect the foul odor, unpleasant taste and lingering disagreeable aftertaste is, in fact, caused by some chemical reaction between the container and the milk, or possibly some residual element of the manufacturing process leaving trace particulates on the inside of the container.

A chemist acquaintance of mine also noted that milk taste is affected by the passage of light through the container. To what degree, if any, there is a correlation I do not know.

I would very much like to smell the inside of one of the plastic milk containers BEFORE any milk is placed inside to verify or dismiss the theory that the milk taste is in fact being altered or contaminated by the container itself. Additionally, I would like to experiment with such a container by placing non-affected fresh milk inside it to see if it indeed changes over time and how quickly.

It is interesting to observe this awful taste is consistent around the country - that is to say, it is, for all practical purposes, identical from place to place, imperceptibly different so far as pungency at least.

One thing does seem certain - because it appears this issue is yet to be officially addressed, the public needs to demand conclusive scientific research into the potential harm this phenomenon may be causing. And even if it is satisfactorily proven to be harmless, the public can still force an industry-wide change by their concerted refusal to consume this appallingly unacceptable product.

I just got a gallon of milk from Target in Leesburg, VA and it had that same awful off taste as described above. My mother in law said it smelled like cheap plastic products.

I live in southeast Michigan and have the same issue. Been drinking skim milk for 20 years and this chemical or plastic taste just started within the past couple of years. Seems to be random as we can buy 4 gallons and it will sometimes be all 4 or other times 1 or 2.

Definitely have cut back on milk consumption due to this.

I bought 2 half gallons skim Shaws brand in RI recently. They are plastic containers. They both had a plastic type taste and smell to me. One of them was for my folks and they couldn't taste or smell this. I returned them a few days later and they exchanged them for two new ones. I detected the same in these two but not quite as intense.

I'm going to start right off with what only a couple of other people have said--that returning bad milk and asking for a refund is the only thing that will change this milk problem.

What a revelation to come upon this thread. I live in Orem, Utah. My Costco milk has been "just OK", but drinkable. The local supermarket chain Smith's house brand, and Winder Dairy, have good milk, and both of these are sold in plastic jugs. I can't drink ANY other brands on account of their "off" taste. Dairy products in general have decreased in quality. I cannot find good buttermilk at all any more (I love it and miss it greatly). All Darigold products are reliably good (I think they're a Pacific NW company), but since Alberton's sold out and closed, it's not available locally.

we just bought foremost here in Vancouver, the eggs, creamo, and milk all have a strong smell and chemical taste. I will return them today. first noticed in my morning coffe, which went down the drain and then my daughter would not eat her eggs. Don't blame her a bit, what a terrible taste. Tried to substitute cereal for the eggs and discovered the same problem with the milk. All 3 products were bought at the same store at the same time. I have occasionally tasted this in eggs, but never in milk or coffe cream. Not sure what they are doing to their dairy, but i am switching back to dairyland. Would really like to know if anyone finds out what the cause is.

Correction: meant to say - back to Avalon Dairy, it may be expensive, but they use glass containers, and i never question the quality or safety of their products.

Another Long Islander here. I've bought only Tuscan or Oaktree 1% half-gallons for years. The milk usually tastes fine, but it the past few years, once in a while... maybe one out of every ten or twelve containers... it will have the weird flavor that everyone here is talking about. I'd describe it as gamy, rather than chemical. My wife doesn't seem to mind it. Glad I found this site, so I know it isn't just me. I'll be writing to the dairy tonight, and I'm going to start taking note of the batch numbers on every container that tastes this way.

I've experienced the same problem in Chicago, in Connecticut, and in the Washington DC area. I describe it as a plastic, chemical sort of awful taste. I don't think it has to do with the plastic containers because I drank milk from plastic containers for years without experiencing this taste. I think it must have to do with how milk is processed, and it is probably happening because someone in the supply chains profits more when the milk tastes bad. For a long time I was able to but good tasting milk at Trader Joe's, but now their milk tastes bad too. Whole Foods milk is still ok for me. I have been returning milk to the store - the more people who do this, the more likely the problem will be addressed.

UGH my mom, dad, and brother think I'm crazy and annoying for not drinking milk anymore. (This is Ohio milk)I stopped drinking the Dairymen milk for about two weeks and then my Mom got the Kirkland brand. It also started tasting weird. I used to drink milk at least 4 TIMES A DAY! now i never do :( its depressing

We starting getting bad milk about 8 months ago. I thought it was just me, but my 8 year old daughter started complaining as well. Last night my 1 1/2 year old was crying in his bed and hadn't drank any of the milk in his cup. I took his whole milk and gave him some skim and he drank it and went to bed no problem. We used to go through at least 5 gallons a week. Now we are lucky to go through 3 mostly because we've switched to water because we can depend on the flavor. We used to buy only Sam's Club milk. Then we totally stopped because we were unable to drink it. I've had problems with every brand except Polka Dot which I buy at the convenience store for about $1 more per gallon. The price isn't the greatest, but its nice to pour a glass and not have to wonder if its going to taste awful.

Interesting. My milk taste like plastic. thought it was me. I Google it and see the start of this thread mentioning Kroger milk. That is what I got. Plastic taste Kroger milk. Sucks.

In Queens NY here and we buy only organic whole milk for the babies but lately every brand we buy ends up having a "cheesy" smell afte ra few days... and the girls wont drink it. My toddler actually says ewww it smells like cheese. Lookswise it looks alright but does in fact smell like cheese. its gross! but I hate to switch to regular milk..? what to do ?

I started buying kirkland organic for my kids. I tried it myself with cereal. It tastes horrible. I cant even believe my kids drink it. I Thought it was the cereal at first so I just poured a glass and drank it. The worst taste ever. How do they even sell this stuff.

I live in Brisbane Australia and we now have the same problem. At first it was just one or two brands but now its hard to find any drinkable milk.

I live in Kentucky and my grandaughter is compalining about the milk having a bad tsste. We buy 2% and skim and it's all starting to taste bad. Why is this and is anybody doing anything about it?

I've been noticing the weird taste the last few weeks get so strong that I can hardly drink the milk even with carnation instant breakfast in it. As far as cereal is concerned it has become awful with the milk. I live in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Centrella,Deans, Baremans,Cosco,and Sams club brands are equally terrible that's 1% and 2% milk. I miss my milk!!!!

I've been noticing the weird taste the last few weeks get so strong that I can hardly drink the milk even with carnation instant breakfast in it. As far as cereal is concerned it has become awful with the milk. I live in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Centrella,Deans, Baremans,Cosco,and Sams club brands are equally terrible that's 1% and 2% milk. I miss my milk!!!!

I've been noticing the weird taste the last few weeks get so strong that I can hardly drink the milk even with carnation instant breakfast in it. As far as cereal is concerned it has become awful with the milk. I live in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Centrella,Deans, Baremans,Cosco,and Sams club brands are equally terrible that's 1% and 2% milk. I miss my milk!!!!

I've been noticing the weird taste the last few weeks get so strong that I can hardly drink the milk even with carnation instant breakfast in it. As far as cereal is concerned it has become awful with the milk. I live in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Centrella,Deans, Baremans,Cosco,and Sams club brands are equally terrible that's 1% and 2% milk. I miss my milk!!!!

I've been noticing the weird taste the last few weeks get so strong that I can hardly drink the milk even with carnation instant breakfast in it. As far as cereal is concerned it has become awful with the milk. I live in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Centrella,Deans, Baremans,Cosco,and Sams club brands are equally terrible that's 1% and 2% milk. I miss my milk!!!!

Milk fat degrades into among other things, aldehydes (soap)

http://books.google.com/books?id=WHbH1dTTxCYC&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=milk+aldehydes&source=bl&ots=Z86zEby78v&sig=kL4hxQMWV-Ei43eHy6jIYrNY0YQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=QrAhT4XkH4n4tgewz_HoDg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=milk%20aldehydes&f=false