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There are several options in almost every product area in today’s market, and the difficulty is in coming up with unique items that stand out and connect with customers. Food Research Lab's Food Research Lab takes a holistic approach to creating food and beverage products. We define, demographically target, and build effective goods through a sequential process for category selection and comprehension. The client can visit the lab to learn the process. We offer unlimited rounds of revisions to ensure customer satisfaction. The final product prototype, along with the documentation process, including the video (through email), will be shipped to the client, and in case the client is not satisfied with the video, a food technology consultant will visit the place for the product demo at the client’s costs.

What are the different forms that you deliver the Food Product Formulations?

The food industry is witnessing a new form of consumption. Keeping that in mind, we can formulate the products in the form of ready-to-eat, ready-to-drink, ready-to-mix, ready-to-serve, and ready-to-cook food products. We use ingredients that offer an added value to the development and improve its indulgence and sustainability in terms of its functional ingredients, plant-based food dyes, and natural preservatives with a clean label.

What are the sectors Food Research Lab cover?

We cover a wide range of sectors such as soups, sauces and dips, chips, tortillas, dry beverage powder, plant-based products, masalas, puddings, instant mixes and many more.

How is sensory testing been carried out?

Our sensory examination leads to the precise formulation and recipe recommendations. We develop data-driven design models based on sensory research and customer insights. The fact-based design methodology used by Food Research Lab reduces risk and gives our clients market confidence while cutting development time in half. With our dedicated sensory lab facility, our team takes satisfaction in creating and optimizing successful products in the marketplace, generating a favourable return on investment, and developing brand advocates.

Dairy products, especially milk is highly perishable as it contains ample nutrition and high in moisture content for the microorganism to grow and multiply. To enhance food safety and protect the quality, non-thermal processing technologies are gaining significant attention in the Food Industry. Currently, consumers are opting for minimally processed foods that are close to natural tastes. Hence the dairy industries are moving towards non-thermal processing technologies which deliver fresh and nutritious foods with better shelf-stability. The microbial inactivation during the processing is critical for improving the shelf-life of milk. Common methods such as pasteurization, ultra-high temperature processing have been investigated in great depths to inactivate and destroy the pathogenic and spore-forming microorganisms. Researchers have worked closely on pathogenic organisms such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp, which are the major causes for the occurrences of foodborne illness worldwide.

Non-thermal technologies for Dairy Products

Interesting News June 29, 2024

Introduction

Dairy products, especially milk is highly perishable as it contains ample nutrition and high in moisture content for the microorganism to grow and multiply. To enhance food safety and protect the quality, non-thermal processing technologies are gaining significant attention in the Food Industry. Currently, consumers are opting for minimally processed foods that are close to natural tastes. Hence the dairy industries are moving towards non-thermal processing technologies which deliver fresh and nutritious foods with better shelf-stability. The microbial inactivation during the processing is critical for improving the shelf-life of milk. Common methods such as pasteurization, ultra-high temperature processing have been investigated in great depths to inactivate and destroy the pathogenic and spore-forming microorganisms. Researchers have worked closely on pathogenic organisms such as Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp, which are the major causes for the occurrences of foodborne illness worldwide.

The main challenge with thermal treatments is that they damage some nutritional components while microbial inactivation, which also involves undesirable flavour changes. To avoid these nutritional and organoleptic changes, non-thermal treatments such as pulsed electric field (PEF), high-pressure processing (HPP), ultrasound, membrane filtration and non-thermal plasma have been deployed. (1)

Pulsed electric Field (PEF)

PEF has gained significant popularity as it destroys both spoilage and pathogenic bacteria and fungi. PEF also inactivates enzymes related to quality deterioration without causing any changes in flavour and taste. PEF treatment (35 kV/cm, 2.3 μs pulse width, at 65 °C for < 10 sec) shown significant pasteurization results similar to a high-temperature short time (HTST) pasteurization. Moreover, the sensory properties of PEF treated products were found to have a better consumer acceptance rate compared to the thermal counterparts.

Table 1 Effect of PEF on microbes present in dairy products. Adapted from 1

*Microorganisms*	Dairy food	Treatment conditions	Reduction	References
E. coli	Milk submitted to ultrafiltration	50 pulses of 60 kV/cm or80 pulses of 70 kV/cm 36 kV/cm, 50 pulses	6 and 9-log	Qin et al. (1998)
L. innocua	Pasteurized skim milk	200 μs at 50 kV/cm 15 to 28 °C, 0.5 L/min100 pulses, 50 kV/cm 0.5 μF,2 μsec, 3.5 Hz Exponential decay	2.6-2.7-log	Fernández-Molina (2001) Fernández-Molina et al. (1999a)
E. coli K12	Raw bovine milk	89 μs at 40 kV/cm at 32.5 °C	5-log	Cregenzán-Alberti et al. (2015)
E. Coli L. monocytogenes S. aureus	Raw whole milk UHT milk	30 kV/cm after 200 μs 150 bipolar pulses of 8 μs at35 kV/cm	2.1-Log 5-Log 4.5-Log	Zhao et al. (2013) Sobrino-López & Martin-Belloso (2006)
L. lactis	Skim milk	35 kV/cm, 90 μs, 22 °C	1-log	Michalac et al. (2003)
Salmonella Dublin L. monocytogenes (Scott A)	Skim milk Milk	K (x10-2/μs) = 0.054-0.52,15-40 kV/cm, Temp = 15-40 °C	4-42.4 μs D value 150-200 μs D value	Sensoy et al. (1997) Reina et al. (1998)
E. coli L. innocua B. subtilis L. delbrueckii P. fluorescens S. Dublin	SMUF Raw skim milk (0.2% milkfat) Milk	K (x10-2/μs) = 0.077-0.092,16 kV/cm, Temp < 30 °C	2500-3000 μs D value 425-520 μs D value 4-7 Log	Pothakamury, (1995) Qin et al. (1994) Fernández-Molina et al. (1999b)
Lactobacillus brevis	Yogurt	(50 °C, 1.8 V/μm	2.0-log	Dunn & Pearlman (1987)
B. stearothermophilus P. fluorescens	3.4% fat milk	60 kV/cm, 200μs, 50 °C (Tin)	3-log	Shin et al. (2007)
L. lactis	Skim milk	35 kV/cm, 90 μs, 22 °C	1-log	Michalac et al. (2003)
Cronobacter sakazakii	Infant formula milk	35 kV/cm, 500μs, 5 °C (Tin)	1.2-log	Pina-Perez et al. (2009)
L. innocua	3.6% Fat whole milk	29 kV/cm, 250 μs, < 45 °C	1.5-2-log	Picart et al. (2002)
L. innocua	Whole milk	40 kV/cm, 43.75 μs, 68 °C	5.5-log	Guerrero-Beltrán et al. (2010)
S. aureus	Skim milk	25 kV/cm, 100 μs, ~50 °C	3-log	Sobrino-López & Martín‑Belloso (2008)

High Pressure Processing (HPP)

HPP employs high pressure in the range of 100-600 MPa for up to 20 min duration to eliminate pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms to increase the stability and shelf life of food Product development. HPP can alter the protein characteristics depending on the duration of treatment and the temperature applied, creating irreversible changes in the structure. The particle size of skim milk decreases substantially from 200 to 100nm, when subjected to HPP treatment at 300MPa. HPP is also mainly chosen for minimal nutrient loss and significant microbial load reduction. To maintain the organoleptic properties of the milk, HPP treatment combinations could be used to provide an increased shelf-life and fresh sensory properties. (2)

Table 2 Effect of HPP on microbes present in dairy products. Adapted from 1

*Microorganisms*	Dairy Food	Treatment conditions	Reduction	References
B. stearothermophilus	Skim milk	84 °C at 300 MPa	0.67-log	Pinho et al. (2011)
Bacillus spores	Commercial sterile milk	300 MPa at 75-85 °C	~5-log CFU/mL	Amador Espejo et al. (2014)
S. typhimurium Y. enterocolitica E. coli S. aureus L. monocytogenes P. fluorescens	Milk	K (1/min) = 0.768, 350 MPa 0.768, 375 MPa 2.303,300 MPa 3.838, 345 MPa	3 min D value 0.6 min D value	Patterson et al. (1995) Patterson & Kilpatrick (1998) Gervilla et al. (1997) Kalchayanand et al. (1998)
S. typhimurium	Raw milk	25 °C, 300 MPa	9.21 min D value	Erkmen, (2009)
C. sporogenes	Milk	90 °C, 700 MPa	13.6 min D value	Shao & Ramaswamy, (2011)
E. coli MG1655 L. innocua S. aureus	Raw milk with 15% fat	300 MPa, 25 °C 100 MPa, 2-4 °C	1.2 to 4.0-log	Briñez et al. (2007)

Ultrasound (US)

The US technology is the most commonly used technology in the food industry around the globe as it is eco-friendly, non-toxic and showcases various applications in the food industry. The US is greatly used in the homogenization and inactivation of microbes (via sonication) present in milk and in novel dairy products which have unique physio-chemical functional properties. The use of the US in the food industry is limited compared to the other non-thermal processing techniques. However, the US can be used in the removal of gases and homogenization of fat and also improve the availability of antioxidants.

Table 3 Effect of US on microbes present in dairy products. Adapted from 1.

*Microorganisms*	Dairy Food	Treatment conditions	Reduction	References
E. coli	Raw whole 4% fat cow’s milk	20 kHz, 120 μm,12 min, 60 °C	3.1-log	Herceg et al. (2012)
E. coli P. fluorescens L. monocytogenes	Raw milk (pasteurization)	20 kHz, 10 min, 750 W	2 to 5.34-log CFU/g	Cameron et al. (2009)
L. monocytogenes	UHT milk	Heat at 60 °C with Sonication at 20 kHz	D60&S = 0.3 min	Earnshaw et al. (1995)
S. typhimurium	Skim milk	30 min at 50 °C 30 min at 40 °C	3-log 2.5-log	Wrigley and Llorca (1992)
E. coli K12DH5	UHT milk (pH 6.7)	110 μm, 60 °C	D60&S = 23s	Zenker et al. (2003)

Plasma and low plasma Technology (PT)

PT is the newest addition to the non-thermal technologies, having various application to the food and dairy industry. PT has proven to improve the quality of the end product with enhanced microbial safety from both pathogenic and spoilage microbes. Just like HPP and PEF, PT has also shown to preserve the sensorial, organoleptic and nutritional properties of the foods. The mechanism of PT is based on the additional gas energy which is getting fed by electrical discharge turning it into energy-rich plasma. Plasma consists of free radicals and electrons which is highly reactive. Moreover, it is important to note that PT induces modification on the surface of the food as the radicals react on the surface and are not capable of penetrating the matrix. PT is also used for enzyme modification and inactivation, wastewater treatments and modified food packaging.

Conclusion

The operational cost of HPP continues to decrease due to its increased demand in the industry. The average processing cost of HPP ranges between 0.05 to 0.5US$ per kg of food. The operational cost of PEF ranges between 0.01 to 0.02 US$ per litre of food. This cost of non-thermal techniques operation is 10 times greater than conventional thermal processing cost. US technology can be used cost-efficiently for extraction and rapid crystallization procedures, providing increased yield in less time. Moreover, the current limitations with non-thermal processing technologies are that it involves huge investment and lack regulatory support in a few countries.

To sum, although these novel non-thermal technologies are capable of reducing the microbial load similar to thermal processing techniques, with an added benefit of minimal loss of nutritional contents. A combination of these techniques called hurdle technology can be used to obtain massive results, such as destroying pathogenic microbes which is not possible otherwise. Therefore, there is great scope in the near future for these techniques to go mainstream; however, manufacturers should look into the drawbacks which are holding them back.