Manufacturing - Fluid Milk - 2005
Stability of Foods Containing Dairy Ingredients Processed Under Ultra High Temperature Conditions
Phillip Tong, Cal Poly SLO
Objective
The overall goal is to establish and provide technical support (expertise and capabilities) for dairy ingredients applications and innovations that require high-heat stability (UHT processing conditions).
Results
- The Microthermics UHT direct Steam Injection and Indirect Tubular Processing System with Clean Fill Hood was ordered and displayed at the Annual Meeting of IFT, Las Vegas (July, 2004) and we
received the unit at Cal Poly during the week of July 19, 2004.
- The unit and support utilities were installed August, 30, 2004.
- Microthermics completed final assembly and training sessions during Fall, 2005.
Upon completion of training session we established good competency in proper operation of the unit. Several industrial and research scale trials were completed over the course of the last 6 months of the project.
A database of literature on published methods for assessment of heat induced changes in beverages containing dairy ingredients was assembled. In addition, methods were selected and established in the lab for measurement of emulsion stability, color change, and protein stability for use in the applications lab.
A coffee beverage formulation was studied for heat stability using the UHT and additional work in the applications program is ongoing to establish improved formulation of such products.
Supplemental Leverage Funds
In an effort to leverage funds for this project activity, a proposal was submitted to the California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (CSU-ARI) entitled: : Use of Dairy Ingredients In Extended Shelf-life Dairy-Based Foods. This project was funded as a three year project which will provide an additional $150,000 from 7/1/04 – 6/31/07. The specific objectives of this project are to: 1) Assess the variability in ESL processing of a dairy beverages formulated with commercially available skim milk powder or modified skim milk powder (lactose and mineral reduced) or lab prepared ultrafiltered skim retentate 2) evaluate the potential to use stabilizers and mineral chelating agents to improve ESL processing performance 3) evaluate indirect or direct heating systems for ESL processing on product stability This work complements the current project by applying learnings to a specfic dairy ingredient (SMP) application.
Conclusions
We have established needed technical expertise in extended shelf-life, thermally processed dairy based beverage processing which will add strength and credibility to our abilities to serve the expressed needs of food manufacturers interested in dairy ingredients applications. Because of the support we received for this project, we successfully obtained additional funds (from State sources) to complement and expand the signficance of this work. We now have a fully operational small pilot scale UHT indirect and direct processing system for dairy beverage development work and clean fume hood filling capability. Additional formuation testing on coffee beverages is proceeding in the dairy ingredients applications lab based on work conducted in this project.
Graduate Thesis Completed
Montella, J. 2005 Effect of ultrafiltration process temperature on the properties of skim milk retentates.
Published Abstracts
Impact of milk powder standardization with lactose on whey protein nitrogen index
V. SIKAND and 1P.S. Tong, 2005. Annual Meeting of Inst. Of Food Technologists, New Orleans, LA
The effect of ultrafiltration temperature and heat treatment on compositional and rheological properties of whole milk retentate J. MONTELLA and P.S. Tong. Annual Meeting of Inst. Of Food Technologists, New Orleans, LA
