Singapore Expats

Hi all,

I will be travelling with my kids to Japan next year. Can I check what kind of fresh UHT milk packet you gave to your kids when travelled to Japan?
I’m looking for something easy and convenient to bring like UHT milk packet but i read that some people mentioned Japan might not have those UHT milk packet. Even if have, its in 1 litre instead of 200ml in small packet.
Any milk recommendation thats safe for kids to drink when travel to Japan? Or Its best that i buy 1 carton of milk packet from Singapore and bring over to Japan?

Please share your opinion here

lalala88 wrote: ↑

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 10:03 am

Hi all,

I will be travelling with my kids to Japan next year. Can I check what kind of fresh UHT milk packet you gave to your kids when travelled to Japan?
I’m looking for something easy and convenient to bring like UHT milk packet but i read that some people mentioned Japan might not have those UHT milk packet. Even if have, its in 1 litre instead of 200ml in small packet.
Any milk recommendation thats safe for kids to drink when travel to Japan? Or Its best that i buy 1 carton of milk packet from Singapore and bring over to Japan?

Please share your opinion here

The flight to Japan is only 6 hours, and they do serve milk on major carriers… just ask. There’s also plenty of milk options for purchase in Japan.

Stick to fresh milk, especially for kids - UHT kills a lot of nutrients.

Hi @malcontent thanks for your reply.
As what i have read, UHT milk sold in Japan are mostly refrigrated. So I’m just checking if they got sell like those unrefrigerated UHT milk packet or not.

Just leave it out of the fridge and it becomes unrefrigerated, easier to buy there. I never bring food abroad unless it's for gifting.

When our daughter was about 5-6 she started getting bad constipation and I was able to isolate the cause: UHT milk. That was the only thing we changed in her diet, and after switching back to fresh, she was fine. At the time I thought it was lack of folate in UHT, but new research shows extreme heat treatment of UHT changes the proteins and how fats clot, which impacts gut transit time compared to fresh. Basically the digestion is harder with UHT, which explains the constipation.

I’m sure this doesn’t happen to many people, but our daughter has always had a sensitive stomach… she got that from me. I also had an issue with stomach cramps when I was young and we traced it to eating Raisin Bran on the daily… apparently too much bran can do that to people. I also get an upset stomach with most sugar substitutes, but Stevia has been ok.

Also I am concerned about UHT milk's freshness as they are all sitting on non- refrigerated shelves in supermarkets. I would only go for fresh milk..

abbby wrote: ↑

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 10:14 am

Also I am concerned about UHT milk's freshness as they are all sitting on non- refrigerated shelves in supermarkets. I would only go for fresh milk..

Freshness is not a concern. The ultra heat treatment (UHT) kills all the germs (while eliminating some nutrients along the way) then it is vacuum sealed so that no germs can be reintroduced (that’d cause the milk to spoil). The freshness is therefore “suspended” until the UHT milk is opened. However, if you have the option to drink fresh milk, nobody in their right mind is going to opt for UHT. Even in countries where UHT is more common, locals tell me they just throw one in the fridge in case they run out of fresh - it’s handy in a pinch.

I see...good nutritional advice. Are Starbucks and Coffee bean serving up UHT milk for the coffee drinks? It seem the packaging the baristas use look like UHT milk

abbby wrote: ↑

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 11:37 am

I see...good nutritional advice. Are Starbucks and Coffee bean serving up UHT milk for the coffee drinks? It seem the packaging the baristas use look like UHT milk

I made my own coffee & tea at home in Singapore and visited Coffee Bean maybe once a year, so couldn’t say, but wouldn’t be surprised if they used UHT considering the money they’d save.

Now that we’re in the U.S., I go to Starbucks a couple of times a month. This is only because they finally introduced a coffee that suits me: the cortado… half espresso & half milk, which I now make at home too. The best part is, it comes in a short (8oz, 240ml) cup… perfect.

Starbucks uses blonde espresso and frothed oat milk (they only use fresh here) for their cortado which tastes amazing. I have a sweet tooth so I order it with brown sugar & cinnamon, that perfectly balances out the espresso bitterness. I asked for a cortado at Starbucks in Singapore the last time we were there and sadly it wasn’t available.