Commercial bovine milk is 3.5% fat, the level of which is affected by seasonality, stage of lactation, feed, health, breed, and even the individual teat. Milk (and other liquid dairy products) are highly perishable due to their nutritional quality, as they are the sole source of nutrition for the neonate. As a result, milk is often dehydrated into powder form, which enhances its shelf life, its storage stability, and the convenience. Another way to enhance the shelf life of milk is to subject it to heat to destroy pathogenic bacteria, enzymes, spores, and to enhance the shelf life of the product. As most dairy products are subjected to some form of heat treatment, their heat stability is integral to the overall quality of the product. In Chapter 2, two reconstituted dairy powders (fat-filled milk powder (FFMP) and whole milk powder (WMP)) were compared under two heat treatments (UHT-processing and retort sterilisation), and three protein contents (2.3, 3.3, and 5%). These variables ...
|