SMARTMILK

A novel system for the treatment of milk based on the combination of ultrasounds and pulsed electric field technologies

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The EU dairy industry produces 130 billion litres of raw milk each year for consumption and for application in the production of many food, feed and pharma products. Without doubt the quality and safety of milk and milk products is of paramount importance for safeguarding the health and safety of EU consumers. While pasteurisation has resulted in a dramatic decline in milk-borne disease outbreaks, consumption of raw or inadequately pasteurised milk has been associated with several outbreaks of enteric infections with pathogens such as Listeria and Campylobacter. Furthermore, not all consumers want to drink milk that has been pasteurised, and although a niche product, consumer interest in raw milk is growing as many people believe it contains a higher proportion of beneficial microorganisms and vitamins. Raw milk continues to be consumed directly by large numbers of people in rural areas across the EU. There is a need for a technology that will improve the treatment of milk and provide an alternative to pasteurisation. Research carried out by University College Dublin revealed that the treatment of milk with thermosonication (TS) combined with pulsed electric field (PEF) achieved a degree of inactivation of L. innocua comparable with conventional pasteurisation, while substantially reducing the severity of the time/temperature exposure. This project will build on this research and will build a TS and PEF- based pre-competitive prototype system called SmartMILK. It will be tested and validated in milk production facilities. A key innovativion of the SmartMILK project will centre on optimising the combination of TS and PEF, whereby TS can assist the treatment technology in resulting in a lesser degree of thermal damage in the milk, thereby retaining more of the organoleptically and nutritionally favourable characteristics of the fresh product, while potentially achieving similar or superior shelf life to the conventional treatment.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Researchers have developed a new approach to milk treatment in response to a growing preference to consume milk that is safe but which retains more of the natural characteristics of raw milk. Their prototype machine uses milder conditions than pasteurisation, resulting in less thermal damage to the milk.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Rural populations across Europe often still drink raw milk, and other consumers prefer unpasteurised milk, believing it to have a higher nutritional value. However, the consumption of raw or inadequately pasteurised milk has been associated with foodborne illness such as Salmonella.

Pasteurisation prevents this by killing bacteria, yeast and fungi, but the high temperatures used also change the taste, and reduce the levels of vitamins and bioactive compounds. The EU-funded SMARTMILK initiative investigated an alternative milk treatment technology that would retain the natural flavours and components of milk, while ensuring consumer safety.

The SMARTMILK prototype combines a pulsed electric field (PEF) with ultrasounds at moderate heat. This approach employs milder conditions to inactivate microorganisms, but results in a similar shelf life achieved with conventional pasteurisation.

Project developers were committed to making the system affordable, robust and easy to maintain. In the initial stages of the project, they surveyed milk processors, cheese makers, yoghurt manufacturers and dairy equipment providers in order to define the industrial specifications. From this, a modular prototype unit that can be easily transported and used in typical industrial dairy plants was developed.

The functionality and technology of the system was validated in a pilot plant facility in Spain. It was tested for the treatment of milk, as well as for its suitability in cheese making and yoghurt manufacture.

The results of the validation tests indicated that the SMARTMILK system can be used to inactivate the microorganisms present in the raw milk. The sensory characteristics of pasteurised milk cheese were preferred over SMARTMILK cheese. Unlike conventionally pasteurised dairy products, SMARTMILK yoghurt showed lower viscosity and a smoother texture.

At this stage, the prototype proved the concept in industrial conditions, but it is not yet suitable for systematic industrial exploitation. During the post-project phase, more work will be done to scale the technology up to commercial scale for market exploitation. The potential for this system to be used in the treatment of other liquid products such as fruit juices, wine and beer is high. The SMARTMILK approach is expected to benefit consumer safety and confidence, which could in turn improve the competitiveness of thousands of European milk processing small-to-medium enterprises.