According to USD A, fluid milk accounted for 18.1 percent (17.4 billion lbs.) of edible food lost by retailers, food-service and consumers in 1995. (See Kantor et al., 1997 for more information). One major factor contributing to dairy product loss andreduced quality is spoilage or products by bacteria. Spoilage presents the dairy industry with a two-pronged problem: Direct economic losses from products removed from the distribution chain and long-term loss of consumers who have had an unpleasant encounter with dairy products and later refuse to willingly choose milk as a beverage.
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