Applications to Dairy Products Preservation

Dairy products are rich in nutrients and are natural culture media for various microorganisms. Therefore, spoilage bacteria can reproduce in dairy products in a short time. In addition, it is easy for dairy products to suffer from excessive microorganisms and deterioration of dairy products during transportation, processing, storage and sales. Even if stored at low temperature, the growth and reproduction of microorganisms cannot be completely inhibited, especially fresh liquid dairy products. Therefore, extending the shelf life of dairy products has become an important problem to be solved in the dairy industry. At present, in order to obtain a longer shelf life, the method of increasing sterilization intensity is usually used to extend the shelf life of products. However, this method will destroy the heat sensitive nutrients in dairy products. Therefore, it is an urgent problem to find a new method to appropriately extend the shelf life of dairy products.

Preservation of Different Dairy Products

The nutritional composition of milk itself and the process of processing and circulation will bring potential possibilities for its deterioration. Now researchers have developed a variety of biological preservation methods by using modern biotechnology, and combined them with physical and chemical means, effectively promoting the development of dairy industry. Many new food preservation methods have been applied in different dairy products.

Fresh Milk

Among all dairy products, fresh milk is the most vulnerable to microbial attack, causing protein degradation and producing acid harmful substances, which can corrupt and deteriorate and make it inedible. Sterilized fresh milk is also difficult to really kill spores, so the preservation process of fresh milk is continuous and long-term. New biological preservation technology has been applied in fresh milk. For example, a recent study found that using nanotechnology to prepare composite materials containing sphenoid extract and linalool as active food packaging can significantly inhibit Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and improve the freshness of milk.

Yogurt

Yogurt is a dairy product fermented by lactic acid bacteria (LAB). It is usually stored at 4 °C. The quality of yoghurt will change during storage. Adding natural active ingredients to improve the storage quality and increase nutrition has become a new trend in the development of yoghurt products. For example, fruits and vegetables are usually rich in phenolics, which can be added to yogurt to improve antioxidant activity. The addition of Luo Han Guo extract can significantly improve the physicochemical, microbiological and sensory properties of probiotic yoghurt, and improve its antioxidant and antibacterial activities.

Cheese

With the increase of cheese consumption and distribution, the cheese industry must solve the security and preservation problems of cheese products. Although the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of natural ingredients have achieved gratifying results, their application in the cheese industry is still limited, because they have a negative impact on the physical, chemical and sensory properties of the final product. Several delivery systems have been studied in this regard, such as the most commonly used edible film/coating, followed by nanofibers or microcapsules to deliver these natural fresh-keeping ingredients. As the bioactive compounds in the delivery system are protected, both antibacterial and antioxidant activities are extended.

Cream

Cream is easy to deteriorate due to the breeding of bacteria, which will not only lead to the deterioration of taste and taste, but also lead to food poisoning. In order to avoid this situation, the production of cream is usually treated with some chemical food additives. However, chemical preservatives can have a negative impact on flavor and may damage health. Therefore, people focus on the development of biological preservatives (such as bacteriocin mainly produced by lactic acid bacteria (LAB)) to control bacterial growth. Many broad-spectrum LAB bacteriocins with food preservation potential have been studied and have better effect when used with other antibacterial agents.

In addition to the application of food preservation technology in the above dairy products, other dairy products such as milk powder, milk sugar and milk tablets are also widely used. Aprofood is committed to developing a variety of biological preservation technologies and providing comprehensive food preservation solutions for customers around the world. If you are interested in food preservation projects, please contact us for the best solution!

References

1. Li, L., Xia, L., Xiao, F., Xiao, Y., Liu, L., Jiang, S., & Wang, H. (2022). Colorimetric active carboxymethyl chitosan/oxidized sodium alginate-Oxalis triangularis ssp. papilionacea anthocyanins film@gelatin/zein-linalool membrane for milk freshness monitoring and preservation. Food chemistry, 405(Pt B), 134994.
2. Christaki, S., Moschakis, T., Kyriakoudi, A., Biliaderis, C. G., & Mourtzinos, I. (2021). Recent advances in plant essential oils and extracts: Delivery systems and potential uses as preservatives and antioxidants in cheese. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 116, 264–278.
3. Arakawa, K., Kawai, Y., Iioka, H., Tanioka, M., Nishimura, J., Kitazawa, H., Tsurumi, K., & Saito, T. (2009). Effects of gassericins A and T, bacteriocins produced by Lactobacillus gasseri, with glycine on custard cream preservation. Journal of dairy science, 92(6), 2365–2372.