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The bactofuge system has been in existence for a number of years. It has principally been used in the cheese industry where its high‐cleaning capabilities have been used to remove spores from cheese milk that could cause latent fermentation in semi‐hard cheeses. It has now been adapted for processing consumption milk, where it holds out the promise of prolonging the life of fresh, pasteurised milk by three‐five days. Two factors have increased interest by the UK dairy industry in this system. First, changes in consumer buying have brought an increase in the number of people who purchase milk only once a week and who demand that the milk is drinkable six or seven days later, even though it may not have remained in proper storage conditions throughout this period. Second, the concentration of milk processing in a small number of very large dairies has led to a lengthening of the distribution chain. With hermetic bactofugation, the dairies are able to add a few more days’ life to their milk products. This satisfies the consumers’ demand for fresh product which lasts longer once it has left the shop. The use of a hermetic bactofuge, a development of the market‐leading hermetic separator, means that the dairies are able to use familiar technology to improve their products at an economic cost.