Non-thermal heats up for dairy

摘要

Extending :he marketable shelf-life of dairy products and ensuring their safety for human consumption are key considerations for the dairy industry. Traditionally, milk is heat treated to kill microbes that may harm human health, or cause it to spoil quickly. While certainly an effective processing method for large throughput products such as raw milk, heat treatment does have its shortcomings. As a non-discriminatory processing method, heat treatment kills microbes such as E. coli and Listeria very efficiently, but it can also have negative effects on product quality and the more delicate biological and nutritional components that are actually beneficial. As such, non-thermal processing technologies are currently being explored which may be of interest to the dairy industry. The development and verification of non-thermal technologies is particularly pertinent considering the recent advent of functional dairy products, for example, those with added probiotics, bioactives, vitamins and minerals which can be damaged or depleted by heat treatment. In addition, non-thermal processing methods can satisfy the increasing consumer demand for minimally-processed food and beverage products. However, since consumers want fresh products with the added convenience of a long shelf-life, this presents a significant challenge for dairy manufacturers.