Milk: Processing of Milk
RS Chavan, R Sehrawat, and V Mishra, National Institute of Food Technology & Entrepreneurship Management (NIFTEM),
Kundli, India
S Bhatt, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, India
ã 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Milk is nutritious, appetizing, and nature’s perfect food (except
vitamin C, copper, and iron) and is recommended by
nutritionists for development of sound body and consumed
by all sectors of people. People suffering from lactose intoler-
ance and old age are unable to digest milk, but can easily digest
fermented foods like yogurt (as lactic acid bacteria converts
lactose into lactic acid). Demand for milk was greater in devel-
oped countries as compared to developing countries, but the
gap has narrowed due to an increase in urbanization,
population, and consumption. Total production of milk up
to 20 July 2014 was 5339.4 million liters, which is exhibiting
an increasing trend from the previous year. Pasteurized milk
and ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk market share in 2014
increased to 83.7% and 6.9% (in volume), respectively, as
compared to 81.9% and 5.2% in 2013. India is the largest
producer of milk with a total volume of 121.8 million tons
followed by the United States and China.
One of the disadvantages associated with heating of milk is
destruction of nutrients like water-soluble vitamins, but tech-
nological advancement and research have made it possible to
prepare fortified milk or milk with added supplements. Milk is
a perishable commodity, and being rich in nutrients it acts as
the perfect substrate for growth of microflora, and to reduce
this, different thermal and nonthermal techniques are imple-
mented. Thermal treatments are the common techniques used
for extending the shelf life of milk, for example pasteurization,
sterilization, and UHT, but loss of nutrients is a concern asso-
ciated with these treatments. Nonthermal treatments like high-
pressure processing (HPP), pulse electric field, ultrasonication,
and irradiation are also explored to process milk to minimize
the loss of nutrients as compared to thermal treatment.
Postprocess contamination is a major factor that can affect
the shelf life of milk, and to maintain the product, safe pack-
aging plays an important role when the milk and milk products
are stored at refrigeration or ambient temperature. Aseptic
packaging of milk when used in combination with high tem-
perature can considerably extend shelf life of milk for more
than 6 months at room temperature.
Types of Products
With judicious preservation technique and by harnessing the
potential of milk into different types of products, milk could be
made available year-round in those sectors where it is not
being produced or during the lean season. Different types of
liquid milk include pasteurized milk, sterilized milk, homoge-
nized milk, and special milk. Special milk includes whole milk,
standardized milk, soft curd milk, flavored milk, vitaminized/
Encyclopedia of Food and Health http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-384947-2.00464-5
irradiated milk, fermented milk (natural buttermilk, cultured
buttermilk, acidophilus milk, kumis, and kefir), reconstituted/
rehydrated milk, recombined milk, soya milk, toned, double
toned milk, filled milk, and imitation milk that are generally
pasteurized or UHT treated (Figure 1). Standardized milk,
toned and double toned are those milks in which standardi-
zation of fat and solid not fat (SNF) content are done by
addition or removal of cream. Fermented milks are categorized
depending on inoculation of different cultures of bacteria for
example Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Streptococcus thermophilus, and
Streptococcus lactis. Flavored milk is prepared by incorporated
flavors like chocolate, strawberry, mango, butterscotch, and
vanilla along with fruit pulps, cocoa powder, sugar, permitted
color, and stabilizers followed by sterilization/UHT treatment.
Milk products available in the market include cream, butter,
butter oil, ice cream, cheese, powdered milk, and condensed
milk. Manufacturing of milk products varies worldwide as a
consequence of traditional practices, different dietary habits,
and social, cultural, and religious dissimilarities. Market milk is
available in different packaging materials including glass con-
tainers, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles, tetra packs,
and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) laminate pouches. In
the dairy market, liquid milk (54%) occupies the largest seg-
ment followed by ghee, yogurt, and whiteners 14%, 8%, and
4%, respectively.
Collection and Storage of Raw Milk
Previously milk was collected by small-scale dairies directly
from nearby farms so there was no critical requirement of
chilling centers. However, with an increase in distance between
collection and processing, large dairy processing units required
chilling centers, as on many occasions it took 3 days for trans-
portation from distant places. Milk can be collected directly
from producers, through cooperative societies, or by the chill-
ing centers. If the processing plant or dairy is near a village/
town, then farmers individually can contact processors on a
daily basis. Sometimes a middleman is also involved for trans-
porting raw milk from villagers to the dairy using cans on
rickshaw, bike, and so on. A cooperative society is formed by
a group of persons at the village level. They do not ensure to
take milk on daily basis and can deny on various grounds.
The milk is procured either on a weight or a volume basis, and
payment is made on the basis of percentage of fat, SNF, and other
quality attributes. Generally cans, insulated tankers, trucks, or
rail tankers are used as a means to transport milk to a processing
plant. At a chilling center the milk is usually stored at a temper-
ature below 5
C in insulated tanks/silos, and the cooling of milk
can be achieved by implementing techniques like can immer-
sion, in-can cooling, rotor freeze, bulk milk cooler, plate chiller,
tubular cooler, brine cooling, and ice cooling. Milk storage
729
730 Milk: Processing of Milk

Stirred yoghurt
Low-fat yoghurt
Yoghurt
Sweetened or flavored
Fermented Strained yoghurt
products
Fermented Kumiss
milk Kefir
products Acidophilus milk
/Beverage Bulgarian buttermilk

Concentrated
Heat milk Khoa Burfi, Peda, Gulabjamun
desiccated Sweetened condensed milk
products Condensed Sweetened condensed skim milk
milk Unsweetened condensed milk
Unsweetened condensed skim milk
Clotted cream
Pressed Cheeses
(Mimolette)
Semi-Pressed
On basis of Cheeses (Cheddar)
Cheese manufacture Pressed and
Cooked Cheeses
(Gruyère)
Coagulated
products Hard (Cheddar)
Whole On basis of Medium-hard
milk texture (Gouda)
Soft (Port Salut)
Chhana
Clarified Butter oil
butter fat Butter
products Butter milk

Frozen Ice cream

products Frozen yoghurt

Whole milk powder

Skim milk powder
Butter milk powder
Dried
Whey powder
products
Butter powder
Ice cream mix powder
Cheese powder
Infant milk powder
Figure 1 Milk and milk products.

temperature is generally kept low, as it will minimize the bacte- Standardization

rial growth and thereby avoid milk spoilage, which is very high if
Standardization involves adjustment of the fat/SNF content of
the milk is stored at 30–40
C, as it is the optimum growth
milk, or a milk product, by addition of cream or skim milk as
temperature for most of the microorganisms present in milk.
appropriate to obtain a given fat/SNF content. Generally raw
Quality assessment is the foremost requirement as soon as
milk is standardized before processing, and it also depends on
the milk is received. It includes a platform test like organoleptic
regulatory authorities, as standardization is not allowed in
(taste, smell, and visual), temperature, clot on boiling (COB),
some countries. Depending on scale of automation in the
sediment test, neutralizer test, and alcohol-alizarin test, which
dairy, either direct inline or batch standardization can be car-
are performed on the dock itself and are indicators of the quality
ried out. Milk products that are utilized for adjusting fat in milk
of the milk. Based on the results of platform tests, a decision is
include cream, butter oil, and whole milk powder, and for
taken to accept or reject the milk. After acceptance of the milk,
increasing the SNF content skim milk powder is often used.
tests are further conducted in a laboratory that will include
determination of fat, SNF, acidity, methylene blue reduction
test (MBRT), microbial counts (direct microscopic, standard
Preservation Techniques
plate count, and presumptive coliform test), and tests for adul-
terants that ensure the quality of raw milk. Milk is further Because milk is a rich source of nutrients, it is susceptible to
pumped into large storage insulated tanks (silos) in which growth of microorganisms if not processed or stored at a low
milk is stored at temperature less than 4
C until it is further temperature. Second, to meet the demand of the urban popu-
pasteurized or sterilized, depending on the requirement. lation and to supply the milk in the lean season, milk needs to
 Milk: Processing of Milk 731

be dried and stored in the flush season. With the growing
demand for milk and milk products and changing lifestyles,
it is necessary to increase the shelf life of the milk not only by
days or months but up to years while maintaining the nutrients
present. Extension of shelf life can be achieved by implement-
ing one of these techniques: lowering the temperature (chill-
ing, freezing), heat treatment (pasteurization, sterilization,
UHT), removal of moisture by concentrating (evaporation,
drying, sweetening, or salting), modified atmosphere (removal
of oxygen), or microfluidization and cold pasteurization tech-
niques (HPP, pulse electric field, oscillating magnetic field and
irradiation; Figure 2).
Pasteurization
Louis Pasteur in 1860 demonstrated that heat treatment
(50–60
C) killed most of the spoilage microorganisms in
fruit juices. In the case of milk, pasteurization means treating
every particle of milk with a time–temperature combination
effective to destroy bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Coxiel-
laburnetii and Listeria monocytogenes as indicator) without alter-
ing nutritional status, as well as color and flavor. At the
industrial level batch pasteurization or low temperature for
longer time (LTLT) and high temperature for short time
(HTST) are carried out at 63
C for 30 min and 72
C for
15 s, respectively, which is immediately followed by cooling
to 5
C or below. LTLT involves a water jacketed vat, water-
spray, or a coil vat pasteurizer. LTLT has benefit of low equip-
ment cost, but the energy and labor requirement is high
compared to HTST. LTLT impairs creaming properties due to
excessive agitation that leads to churning. The HTST pasteuri-
zer provides a continuous flow of milk, occupies less floor
area, uses automation (clean-in-place [CIP] cleaning), and
requires low operating cost (effective regeneration). Other
time–temperature combinations are 89, 90, 94, and100
C
for 1, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.01 s, respectively (US code of federal
regulation). Regeneration allows heating of incoming milk
and cooling of outgoing milk, where 80% of pasteurization
temperature is achieved and 94–95% of heat from the outgo-
ing milk is recovered.
In HTST, plates are generally used for exchanging the heat
and are made of stainless steel (SS type 320) of 0.8–2.0 gauge
with a gap of 2.5–4.0 mm between two consecutive plates.
Apart from the fact that copper has an excellent heat transfer-
ring capacity of 218 BTU h1 ft1 F1 as compared to stainless
steel (10 BTU h1 ft1 F1), it is not used in fabrication of
plates as it may produce off flavor by catalyzing the oxidation
of milk fat. The heating medium used for heating of milk may
be steam or hot water, and for cooling of milk, glycol, brine,
water, or ice water can be used. Capacity of the dairy plant
using plate heat exchanger can be as high as 1 00 000 L h1,
which can be adjusted by increasing or decreasing the size of

Receiving raw milk

Cooling to 5 ⬚C

Preheating (35 − 40 ⬚C)

Filtration/Clarification

Cooling to 5 ⬚C

Standardization and storage (5 ⬚C)

Preheating (60 ⬚C)

Homogenization (2500 Psi) (60 ⬚C)

Ultra-high Filling and Pasteurization Pasteurization (HTST

temperature capping (LTLT/63 ⬚C for 15 min) /72 ⬚C for 15 s)
(135 − 150
⬚C/1 − 2 s)

Aseptic Sterilization Cooling Cooling

Packing (108 − 121
⬚C/25 − 30
min)

UHT milk Sterilized Pasteurized milk in Pasteurized milk in

milk finished tank finished tank

Cooling Cooling Packing Packing

Storage Storage Storage/Distribution Storage/Distribution

/Distribution /Distribution
Figure 2 A flowsheet for the manufacture of pasteurized liquid milk, sterilized milk, and UHT milk.
732 Milk: Processing of Milk
the plate and the number of plates. In the plate heat exchanger,
the heat of the pasteurized milk is utilized to warm the incom-
ing cold milk that is simultaneously precooled. This in turn
saves the cost of heating and refrigeration, and this capacity of
the plate exchanger is called regenerative heat exchange or,
more commonly, heat recovery. The regeneration section is
divided into different subsections with the help of a block,
and these blocks are further connected to processes like
homogenization, clarification, microfiltration, and separation.
Shell and tube heat exchangers are used for pasteurization of
highly viscous products like cream, and an added advantage of
shell and tube heat exchanger over plate heat exchanger is of
low maintenance.
UHT
UHT processing of milk involves heating milk in a continuous
process to temperatures higher than 135
C for a few seconds,
cooling rapidly, and aseptically packaging in the milk into
sterile containers. UHT treatment must be sufficient to produce
a commercially sterile product in which bacterial growth will
not occur under normal storage conditions, but not severe
enough to cause chemical changes that result in an unaccept-
able flavor, color, and nutritive loss. In general, the heating
should be equivalent to a minimum of 9 log reduction of
thermophilic spores (referred to as a B* value, >1) and a
maximum reduction of 3% in the level of thiamine (referred
to as a C* value, <1). UHT was invented in 1960, and
UHT-treated milk was commercially available in 1970 with
an objective to reduce nutritional loss caused by in-container
sterilization. UHT-treated milk is generally packed in paper-
board made of six different layers. A polyethylene layer is used
for sealing in the milk and also acts as a moisture barrier;
aluminum foil acts as an oxygen barrier and protects from
off-flavors and light. UHT-treated and aseptically packed milk
can have a long shelf life extending up to 6 or even 9 months
without any preservatives at ambient temperature. The disad-
vantage associated with UHT treatment of milk is that in many
instances the milk appears to have a cooked taste with a slight
to dark brown color that may be due to Maillard browning.
Development of sulfurous flavor is also associated with UHT
milk, which is developed on thermal treatment as a result of
unfolding of whey proteins. Milk with a high preprocessing
microbial count is more susceptible to gel formation than milk
with a low count. Microorganisms that produce heat-stable
enzymes cause the most serious gelation problems. Longer
refrigeration times prior to sterilization allow increased growth
of psychotropic microorganisms and concomitant production
of heat-stable enzymes, especially proteinases and lipases.
Two main types of UHT processes are used commercially:
direct heating, in which milk comes into direct contact with the
heating medium, that is, steam; and indirect heating, in which
the heating medium, steam or superheated water, is separated
from the milk by a stainless steel plate or wall of a tube. In
direct systems, heating to the specified temperature and cool-
ing from the high temperature is very fast due to transfer of the
latent heats of condensation and evaporation, respectively,
between the steam and liquid milk. A plate heat exchanger
used in UHT processing is able to withstand high temperature
and internal pressure as compared to a pasteurizer. A plate heat
exchanger provides more surface area for heat transfer, low
cost, and simple design. Tubular heat exchangers are more
commonly used for thick liquids; do not need to acquire an
aseptic homogenizer, as they can withstand 200–300 bar pres-
sure required during homogenization; and by employing
homogenizer valve will serve the purpose as a source of con-
tamination in a homogenization pump thus eliminating the
requirement of a pump. The rate of fouling of tubular heat
exchangers is less as compared to a plate heat exchanger that
has narrow channels for milk flow. Cooling to around 20
C is
achieved in a vacuum chamber. Direct heating requires steril-
ization temperatures 3–4
C higher than indirect heating to
achieve an equal sterilization effect because of the greater
heat input during the heat-up phase of indirect heating. As
compared to direct heating systems, indirect systems have a
low heat transfer rate and a higher rate of deposition over the
surface that requires frequent cleaning, but less processing and
operational cost (less pumps and accessories, regeneration of
energy) and require less controls. To exploit the benefits of
direct as well as indirect processes, systems using a combina-
tion of direct and indirect heating are available commercially
(e.g., the High-Heat Infusion system of APV88 and the Tetra
Therm Aseptic Plus Two system of Tetra Pak). These achieve
better energy economy than conventional direct systems (due
to greater heat regeneration) and cause less chemical damage,
especially flavor change, than conventional indirect UHT sys-
tems. Some of the adversely affected nutrient components in
milk after UHT treatment are ascorbic acid, folacin, vitamin
B12, vitamin B6, thiamine, and riboflavin up to an extent of
15–25%, 10–20%, 0–30%, 0–10%, <10–18%, 0–10%, respec-
tively. Fat-soluble vitamins, proteins, and amino acids are
affected to a much lesser extent.
Sterilization
In-can sterilization of milk is usually carried out above 100
C
with a time–temperature combination of 121
C for 15 min at
15 psi. The sterilization process may be a batch (autoclaves) or
continuous process (vertical hydrostatic towers or horizontal
sterilizers) and can be carried out in either cans or glass bottles,
which are prefilled and hermetically sealed.
Sterilization effect is achieved by using hot water or satu-
rated steam, which transfers the heat to milk and milk products
through the walls of the container. The main objective of
sterilization is to kill vegetative cells and endospores or reduc-
tion of 12 log cycles (12 D reduction) of Clostridium botulinum
by using a suitable time–temperature combination. The fact
that sterilization takes place after bottling eliminates the need
for aseptic handling, but on the other hand, heat-resistant
packaging materials must be used. Sterilized milk usually has
a creamy appearance and an extended shelf life of more than 6
months as compared to a few days for pasteurized milk. Ren-
dering milk to high temperature with a long holding time often
results in burnt flavor and brown color, which may be a result
of the Maillard reaction. Popularity and consumption of ster-
ilized milk declined after introduction of UHT processed milk.
Nutrient loss is a major concern associated with sterilization, as
it is reported by various scientists that almost 50% of vitamin C
and 30–40% of thiamine and vitamin B12 are lost, but

components like vitamin A, riboflavin, carotene, and nicotinic
acid remain unaffected.
Homogenization and Microfluidization
Homogenization of milk has become a standard process that is
applied as a means of stabilizing the fat emulsion against
gravity separation. Gaulin, who invented the process in 1899,
described it in French as ‘fixer la composition des liquides.’
Homogenization is carried out by using a homogenizer that
pumps the milk under pressure through an orifice of 0.1 nm to
disintegrate the fat globules to less than 2 mm. The disintegra-
tion of the milk fat globules is achieved by a combination of
contributing factors such as turbulence and cavitation that do
not allow visible cream separation in milk and also increase the
mouthfeel, color, and digestibility. Homogenizers used in the
milk industry are either single-stage or two-stage, depending
on the number of homogenizing devices. Single-stage
homogenization is used to homogenize products with a high
viscosity, whereas two-stage homogenization is applied for
products with a high fat content or where high homogeni-
zation efficiency is desired. Homogenization temperatures nor-
mally applied are 60–70
C, and homogenization pressure is
between 10 and 25 MPa (100–250 bar), depending on the
product. In a two-stage homogenization, pressure of 2000 psi
and 500 psi is applied at the first stage and second stage,
respectively. Pressure at the first stage reduces fat globules size
and increases viscosity, whereas a second stage is used to
prevent fat cluster reformation. The purpose of homogeni-
zation of milk is to stabilize the milk fat emulsion, as during
storage and distribution a creamy layer appears at the top
surface as a result of separation under gravitational force.
Homogenized milk cannot be efficiently separated and also
on many occasions it leads to development of sunlight flavor.
Moreover, the homogenized milk is also reported to have low
heat stability, and also the milk is not suitable for production
of semihard and hard variants of cheese, as the coagulum
formed will be too soft, which will make it vulnerable during
dewatering. Homogenized milk is more sensitive to light and
enzymatic activity of lipase, so pre-heat treatment is recom-
mended before homogenization of milk to inactivate lipase.
Microfluidization is a novel technique, using high pressure
up to 241 MPa by combining high velocity, shear, turbulence,
and collision inside the chamber for a short duration of 5 s to
obtain high-quality products by breaking down large particles.
It is a continuous process that has a chamber for fluid flow, in
which pressure stream is forcibly directed to flow into two
different fine orifices. At the point of intersection, both splited
microstreams clash into each other at high speed, resulting in
the reduction of large-size particles to very small sizes. Break-
down into fine particles inside the interaction chamber occurs
due to high speed, high shear, cavitation, air compression, and
coerces of the microstreams. The milk obtained after
microfluidization is more homogenized and viscous when
compared with commercially available homogenized milk
using a two-stage homogenizer. Microfluidized milk, when
used for cheese preparation, can improve textural and melting
characteristics and also lower the microbial population. Yogurt
prepared from homogenized milk was comparable to low-fat
(1.5%) microfluidized yogurt in terms of texture profile and
Milk: Processing of Milk 733
water retention property. Some of the characteristics associated
with microfluidization include chances of contamination,
hard to scale up the production rate, loss of product, and
encapsulated material structure due to high shear and striking
coerces during microfluidization.
Novel Nonthermal Milk Processing Techniques
Consumers prefer products that are minimally processed; have
natural aroma, fresh taste, and no additives; are stable; are
convenient to use; and are microbiologically safe. Although
thermal processing (heating or cooling operation) maintains
safety of food, it adversely affects nutritional value. However
irradiation, pulse electric field, and HPP are alternatives to tra-
ditional thermal processing. Technologies such as ohmic heat-
ing, dielectric heating (which includes microwave heating and
radio-frequency heating), and inductive heating have been
developed that can replace, at least partially, the traditional
heating methods that rely essentially on conductive, convective,
and radiative heat transfer. They all have a common feature: heat
is generated directly inside the food and this has direct implica-
tions in terms of both energetic and heating efficiency. Among
these nonthermal techniques, HPP of milk is well studied
although other techniques has attracted little attention and
commercial application but has considerable potent future.
• High Pressure Processing
HPP is a technique that involves the application of pressure in
the range of 100–900 MPa, which is instantaneously and uni-
formly transmitted throughout the product irrespective of its
size and shape. The principle of HPP is based on Le Chatelier’s
principle (with increase in pressure, decrease in volume occurs)
and isostatic transfer (uniform transmission of pressure in all
sides). Pressure of 300–600 MPa breaks ionic and electrostatic
bonds but does not disrupt covalent bonds. HPP processing of
milk usually has least effect on color, flavor, and nutritional
value, but is effective enough to reduce microbial load as well
to enhance rennet or acid coagulation of milk. Milk processed at
a pressure of 600 MPa was found to enhance the shelf life of
milk by reducing the microbial population, and factors that
govern the microbial reduction are duration of exposure and
target species, as well as composition. Microbial quality of HPP
(400–600) treated raw milk was found to be comparable with
pasteurized milk (72
C for 15 s), and treatment at 400 MPa for
15 min and 600 MPa for 3 min is effective enough to increase
the shelf life at 10 and 20
C, respectively, for 10 days.
• Pulse Electric Field (PEF)
PEF has proven to have a potential for increasing the milk shelf
life, as it is highly applicable to liquids. PEF had shown min-
imal effects on the nutritional, flavor, and functional charac-
teristics of milk and also has an ability to inactivate
microorganisms. PEF is based on the application of pulses of
high voltage (typically 20–80 kV cm-1) delivered to the product
placed between a set of electrodes that confine the treatment
gap of the PEF chamber. The process can be conducted at
ambient temperature for a fraction of second, and energy loss
due to the heating of foods is minimized. Preservation of milk
and fluid dairy products seems to be one of the main market
734 Milk: Processing of Milk
niches for PEF technology because it is mainly intended
for preservation of pumpable fluid or semifluid foods. When
self-inoculated (Salmonella) milk was treated with PEF
(36.7 kV cm1 and 40 pulses, 25 min) and stored at 7–9
C
for 8 days, the level of Salmonella was below detection limit.
PEF-treated cheese milk has not shown any significant changes
on physicochemical characteristics and quality of cheese. No
adverse effect of PEF on water-soluble vitamins in milk (ribo-
flavin, thiamin, and ascorbic acid) and fat-soluble vitamins
(cholecalciferol and tocopherol), after applying treatments of
up to 400 ms at field strengths from 18.3 to 27.1 kV cm1, was
found except for ascorbic acid. As compared to LTLT- and
HTST-treated milk, PEF-treated milk retained more ascorbic
acid after a 400 ms treatment at 22.6 kV cm1 (93.4%) than
either a LTLT (49.7%) or HTST (86.7% retained).
• Other Techniques
Milk irradiation is a process of exposing milk to ionizing radia-
tion (gamma rays, beta-particles), emitted by a source (cesium
and cobalt) to destroy the spoilage-causing microorganisms.
Treatment of milk with 2–5 kGy reduced bacterial population
by around 99%, but to achieve complete sterilization of milk, a
dosage of 10–20 kGy is required. A hurdle in irradiation of milk
is development of off-flavor and color change. Irradiation can be
effectively used for sterilization of packaging material used for
packing of milk and milk products. Ultrasound waves are sim-
ilar to sound waves but have a frequency that is above 16 kHz. It
produces very rapid localized changes in pressure and tempera-
ture that cause shear disruption, ‘cavitation’ (creation of bubbles
in liquid foods), thinning of cell membranes, localized heating,
and free radical production that have a lethal effect on microor-
ganisms. A combined heat and ultrasound treatment under
pressure was termed ‘manothermosonication’ (MTS) and can
be used for enhancing the shelf life of milk. Unfortunately,
ultrasound does not inactivate alkaline phosphatase or lactoper-
oxidase enzymes and hence cannot be used to indicate a suc-
cessful ultrasonic treatment. If ultrasonication is to be used as an
alternative to thermal pasteurization, a need exists to find a
quick and efficient method to indicate whether ultrasonication
was sufficient in terms of ensuring a microbiologically safe
product.
Packaging, Storage, and Distribution
Packaging is a medium between product manufacturers and
consumers aiding the maintenance of original quality of the
packaged products and providing information and character-
istics of the packaged products to the consumers. The functions
of packaging are to enable efficient food distribution, maintain
product hygiene, protect nutrients and flavor, and reduce spoil-
age and waste. Immediately after heat treatment, milk products
need to be packaged to avoid postprocess contamination that
will affect the shelf life. In earlier days returnable glass bottles
were used for packaging and distribution of milk, but with
technological advancement plastic bottles, tetra packs,
laminates, and sachet are now preferred over glass bottles.
Before a packaging material is selected for milk and milk
products it is important to know the type, composition,
compatibility, conditions of storage, and transportation
(light, temperature, humidity, mechanical stress during
transportation, and storage). The ideal packaging material for
milk should be an inert, nontoxic, safe, and hygienic design and
should not directly or indirectly impart smell. Packaging mate-
rial should be well labeled with manufacturing, expiration date,
storage conditions, and ingredients. Single-use packages are
used for packaging of fluid milk that is predominately plastic
pouch (PE, LDPE, HDPE, polyvinylchloride) that has a good
moisture barrier properties but poor recyclability and disposal
complications. Cartons are generally used as a secondary stor-
age of milk; paper and paperboards materials include laminates
consisting of outer kraft paper with PE coatings and aluminum
foil. The advantage of single-use packaging material is that they
decrease the use of detergents, which is required for washing
returnable glass bottles. Apart from sterilizing the milk and
milk products and also the packaging material, sterilization of
equipment, line, and filling area can enhance the shelf life of
milk. Aseptic packaging is being utilized in developing coun-
tries for presterilized packages under sterile environment into
sterile packaging material.
For storage and distribution of milk, insulated tanks, cans,
bottles, tetrahedral package, paperboard cartons, and automatic
vending machines are used. The most important factor to be
considered during the storage and distribution of milk is the
temperature of storage, which should be kept at 5
C. Hygienic
conditions must be maintained throughout the supply chain so
that the milk products are not cross contaminated and are also
free from defects like off flavor due to exposure to chemicals.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
Quality assurance is an important element for safe milk and
milk products from any of the contaminants that can render
the product unsafe for consumers. Addition of water by deceit-
ful middlemen is one of the challenges faced by the dairy
industry in developing countries. To provide a quality milk
and milk product it is of utmost importance to start the process
by procuring good-quality raw milk and maintaining strict
quality measures at different checkpoints (collection, transpor-
tation, receiving dock, after processing, and during dispatch),
including transportation and storage. Quality testing
includes a platform test at the receiving dock and physico-
chemical cum microbiological analysis in the processing
(before–after) industry and should follow up the standards as
laid out by regulatory agencies/bodies. To ensure the quality,
dairy industries should follow good manufacturing policies
(GMP), hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP), and
ISO:22000 (2005) based programs, which will help in control-
ling the quality by identifying and reducing the hazards within
a safe limit for consumers. Other key factors that control qual-
ity are hygiene, safety, adequate thermal treatment during
manufacturing, packaging, and postprocess contamination.
Steps Where Preventive Measures Are Required to
Maintain Quality
• Good and hygienic milking practices must be carried out at
the farm level that can minimize the proliferation of micro-
organisms from environment, dirt, soil, feces, human
beings, and equipment into milk.

• Utensils and equipment used for milking the animals must
be well sanitized and preferably manufactured using stain-
less steel.
• Milk mulched from mulching animals suffering from mas-
titis and other diseases must not be mixed with a batch of
good raw milk.
• Longer storage temperatures of raw milk must be avoided as
it allows few psychrotrophic organisms (L. monocytogenes
and Pseudomonas species) to grow that in return can secrete
enzymes like proteases and lipases, which produces defects
like sweet curdling in UHT-treated milk.
• Monitoring the milk for adulteration with adulterants
including urea, sugar, neutralizers, and nondairy proteins.
• Routine monitoring must be done for critical control points
(time–temperature) for pasteurization and sterilization that
can be evaluated by conducting an alkaline phosphatase
test (pasteurization) and turbidity test (sterilized).
• Monitoring the sanitation and CIP programs before proces-
sing and after processing to ensure that the residual milk in
pipeline/equipment is removed and they are in sanitized
condition, which will not support the further growth of
spoilage bacteria.
• Hygiene conditions must be maintained during processing
and also after packaging of milk to avoid postprocess
contamination.
• Usage of unsterilized packaging material for packing of
milk and milk products must be avoided.
• Temperature fluctuation during the storage and distribu-
tion of milk (collection center, transportation, storage dis-
tribution) must be avoided to maintain the product safety.
Good farming practice, animal health management, control of
feed, hygienic milking operations, inspection, quality analysis,
sanitation, and hygiene during manufacturing as well as pack-
aging and effectively monitoring every parameter during pro-
cessing will help in reducing microbial load to render products
safe for end consumers.
See also: Acidophilus Milk; Cheese: Chemistry and Microbiology;
Fermented Foods: Composition and Health Effects; Fermented Foods:
Milk: Processing of Milk 735
Origins and Applications; Fermented Foods: Use of Starter Cultures;
Functional Foods; Lactic Acid Bacteria.
Further Reading
Antonio JT, Marta C, Jordi S, Ramon G, and Buenaventura G (2002) Applications of
high-hydrostatic pressure on milk and dairy products: A review. Innovative Food
Science and Emerging Technologies 3: 295–307.
Chavan R, Kumar A, Mishra V, and Nema PK (2014) Effect of microfluidization on
mango flavoured yoghurt: Rheological properties and pH parameter. International
Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences 3: 84–90.
Datta N and Deeth HC (1999) High pressure processing of milk and dairy products.
Australian Journal of Dairy Technology 54: 41–48.
Holsinger VH, Rajkowski KT, and Stabel JR (1997) Milk pasteurisation and safety: A
brief history and update. Revue Scientifique et Technique (International Office of
Epizootics) 16: 441–451.
Jafari SM, He YH, and Bhandari B (2006) Nanoemulsion production by sonication and
microfluidization – A comparison. International Journal of Food Properties
9: 475–485.
McCrae CH (1994) Homogenization of milk emulsions – Use of microfluidizer. Journal
of the Society of Dairy Technology 47: 28–31.
Naik L, Sharma R, Rajput YS, and Manju G (2013) Application of high pressure
processing technology for dairy food preservation – future perspective: A review.
Journal of Animal Product Advances 3: 232–241.
Rattray W, Gallmann P, and Jelen P (1997) Nutritional, sensory and physico-chemical
characterization of protein-standardized UHT milk. Lait 77: 279–296.
Sı́lvia B, Barbosa-Cánovas GV, and Olga M (2002) Milk processing by
high intensity pulsed electric fields. Trends in Food Science and Technology
13: 195–204.
Relevant Websites
http://www.dairyco.org.uk/.
http://www.dairyco.org.uk/market-information/dairy-sales-consumption/liquid-milk-
market/liquid-milk-market/#.VFmq3TSUflE.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/T0045E/T0045E02.html.
http://www.fil-idf.org/Public/PublicationsPage.php?ID¼27121&highlight¼true.
http://www.fonterra.com/global/en.
http://www.idmc.coop/.
http://www.tetrapak.com/in/products-and-services/processing-equipment/dairy-
equipment.