In the push to produce the healthiest milk, one manufacturer is striving to be better than the best. If things go according to plan, organic milk, once considered the pillar of safe dairy, could be eclipsed by Ultrapure milk, a cheaper, hyper-cleansed dairy product that uses a bacterial centrifuge and filtration system to remove 95 percent of the bacteria found in milk.

Ultrapure milk makes its debut during a year that has already been challenging for certain organic milk manufacturers. As the FDA attempted to outline clear guidelines for what does or doesn’t make milk organic, companies like Horizon capitalized on the ambiguities. To date, the key tenets of organic milk production have been the absence of synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics and access to pasture for all milking cows. Big companies like Horizon have found a loophole in “access to pasture,” substituting genuine grazing time for days spent in confinement or even worse, on concrete.

Even with a bit of controversy, organic milk promises to provide consistent competition for Ultrapure, but there’s also another contender to consider. Though it has been a staple of hard-core health food circles for years, raw milk is beginning to find its way onto the grocery lists of the average milk drinker. Free from pasteurization, raw milk retains many of its highly potent nutrients. Pasteurizing milk not only destroys germs and harmful bacteria, but also kills good bacteria like lactobacillus acidolphilus along with certain vitamins like B12 and B6. Proponents of raw milk also believe that heating milk to high temperatures during pasteurization changes the structure of the milk proteins, which results in a product that can exacerbate a number of health problems like gas and bloating, arthritis, and tooth decay. Raw milk is said to cause little to no negative reaction—even people who are allergic to pasteurized milk can often drink raw milk with no complications.

Raw milk may be making its way into the cereal bowls of more Americans, but one technicality is preventing it from making a significant impact on the milk market: it’s illegal. As of today, the FDA has not approved the consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. While good bacteria is alive and well in raw milk, many believe that bad bacteria is also present, increasing the risk of Brucellosis, salmonellosis, and tuberculosis. If you are intrigued by raw milk, you are going to have to find a local farm or market that sells it. Or you can buy a cow. Purchasing a percentage of a cow allows a farmer to sell you its milk legally.

By making no FDA-regulated promises (and breaking no FDA laws), Ultrapure milk may actually be in a better position than its organic and raw counterparts. Produced by Mountainside Farms, a New Jersey-based company, Ultrapure avoids the “access to grazing” technicality focusing instead on what happens to the milk once it has left the cow. Mountainside tests its milk for the six antibiotics that are commonly used on dairy cows – a process that, according to a Mountainside representative, surpasses the testing required by state and federal regulations by 20 percent. The company also requires that all of its dairy farmers produce certification to ensure that their cows were not exposed to rbST, the artificial bovine growth hormone. But Ultrapure’s claim to fame, the quality that makes it truly “ultra pure,” is its bacterial centrifuge and filtration system. This hi-tech equipment, which helps Mountainside to remove up to 95 percent of the bacteria found in milk prior to pasteurization, is not found in conventional milk processing and certainly isn’t found in organic processing.

Ultrapure claims to be cleaner, better tasting, and even cheaper than organic milk. If it seems too good to be true, it is. Maybe. While organic dairies are required to feed their cows organically grown grain, Morningside keeps the cost of its milk to just a fraction above conventional by feeding its cows the regular stuff. For organic purists this will surely be a deal breaker, but for those looking for an affordable, ultra purified dairy experience, one that is not pretending to be anything but, Ultrapure milk could be what does a body good.

Via Real Milk and Mercola