On the eve of All Saints' Night in Cyprus, an unusual phenomenon was noted: hundreds of residents report that fresh pasteurized milk begins to sour just a couple of days after purchase, while in the refrigerator.
The Cyprus Consumer Association has recorded an abnormal increase in complaints about the quality of a certain brand of dairy products. Despite numerous requests, official authorities have not yet commented on the situation.
Paranormal researcher Andreas Christou explained what was happening from the point of view of folklore:
“Milk is very sensitive to the presence of negative energy. If it turns sour several times in a row, this may be a sign of an excess of negative energy in the house. According to ancient Cypriot beliefs, milk will quickly turn sour if there is evil spirits in the home. Such mass phenomena at the state level were usually considered harbingers of wars, epidemics or natural disasters.”
In medieval Europe, sour milk was often associated with witches and demonic forces. It was believed that witches used so-called “familiars” - magical creatures capable of spoiling food and stealing milk. In the Nordic countries there were legends about “milk hares” (Mjölkhare) or “troll hares” (Trollhare), which were created by witches to secretly steal milk from their neighbors. Milk, as a symbol of purity and abundance, was considered a powerful sign, and its spoilage was perceived as a manifestation of supernatural evil.
However, the scientific explanation for the phenomenon is much more prosaic.
The main reason for milk souring is the proliferation of lactic acid bacteria, which secrete lactic acid, which causes proteins to coagulate and whey to form.
If we talk about the Cypriot case, experts believe that a possible cause was violations of pasteurization technology - insufficient temperature or processing time.
“Such technological errors can lead to the fact that a whole batch of milk quickly deteriorates, even if the storage conditions are met,” experts explained.
Meanwhile, on social networks, users joke that “the evil spirits in Cyprus decided to start celebrating Halloween in advance.”
