High temperature is defined as 90 to 150 °C. Many dairy processes, including extended shelf-life (ESL) and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) processing, in-container sterilization, yogurt milk heat treatment, pre-heating or forewarming milk for production of sterile concentrated milk and powders, manufacture of co-precipitate and dolce de leche, involve heat treatments in this temperature range. Pasteurization is not included in this paper as it is generally performed at 72–75 °C.
1. Introduction
Thermal treatments of milk in the temperature range of 90 to 150 °C cause a range of effects on the components of milk, many of which affect the nature and quality of processed milk and dairy products. The bacteriological and chemical changes and the practical consequences of the chemical changes are discussed in this paper.
The various heat treatments in the 90–150 °C range used in the dairy industry have their individual objectives. These are primarily bacteriological but, in some cases also chemical. As examples, ESL processing aims to destroy all bacteria which are likely to grow at low temperatures (because ESL milk is stored under refrigeration) and UHT processing is designed to destroy bacteria which are likely to grow at ambient temperatures
[1] which can be up to ≥ 40 °C
[2]. However, all heat treatments in this temperature range cause chemical changes which may or may not have consequences for the final products.
2. Bacteriological Effects
Most non-spore-forming bacteria are inactivated at temperatures below 90 °C, although some thermoduric bacteria, e.g., some coryneforms, can survive heating at 90 °C for 10 min [3]. However, the main focus of thermotolerant bacteria in milk is on the spore-forming bacteria. Smelt and Brul [4] reported that the heat stability of bacterial spores ranges from <1 min at 90 °C for Clostridium botulinum Type E to 3–4 min at 130 °C for Geobacillus stearothermophilus.
The sporeformers relevant to milk can be categorized as psychrotrophic, mesophilic, and thermophilic [5]. While these terms apply to the growth temperatures of the bacteria, the order of the heat resistance of their spores is roughly of the same order, i.e., psychrotrophic < mesophilic < thermophilic. Spores of psychrotrophic bacteria are most significant in ESL-milk which is processed at 125–140 °C for 1–10 s [6], commonly around 127 °C for 5 s [7] and stored under refrigeration. Therefore, spores that survive ESL heat treatment and can grow at low temperatures can cause spoilage of ESL milk. A heat treatment of, or equivalent to, 134 °C for 4 s inactivates these spores [8]. Common psychrotrophic sporeformers are Bacillus species such as B. coagulans and B. circulans but some strains of others, e.g., B. cereus and Paenibacillus species, are also psychrotrophic. B. cereus is a potential problem in ESL as some psychrotrophic strains are pathogenic [8].
The majority of sporeformers that contaminate milk are mesophilic. They include mostly Bacillus species such as B. licheniformis, B. subtilus, B. pumilus and B. megaterium. Their spores are inactivated by standard UHT treatments of 135–150 °C for 1–10 s [6], commonly 138–140 °C for ~4 s. Thermophilic spores include highly-heat-resistant spores (HRS), some of which can survive UHT processing. HRS are mainly of B. sporothermodurans and G. stearothermophilus. Spores of the former have been reported to have decimal reduction values (D-values) at 140 °C of ~5.0 s [9][10] and require UHT holding conditions of 148 °C for 10 s or 150 °C for 6 s to achieve a reasonable level of inactivation of these spores in milk [11]. In-container sterilization treatments of 110–120 °C for 10–20 min [6] are the most intense heat treatments applied to milk. They are designed to inactivate all bacteria, including spores.
The bactericidal effect of a given thermal sterilizing process can be expressed as an F0-value or a B*-value. F0 has traditionally been used for in-container (retort) sterilization and is based on a reference temperature of 121 °C (actually 121.11 °C or 250 °F) and a z-value (z-value is the increase in temperature required to cause a 10-fold decrease (1-log) in D-value where D-value is the time required to cause a 10-fold reduction (1-log) in the bacterial count) of 10 °C. F0 of 1 is equivalent to heating at 121 °C for 1 min. The minimum heating conditions for producing a safe low-acid food has been arbitrarily established to be equivalent to F0 of 2.6 (usually rounded up to 3.0); this is the “botulinum cook” which causes a 12-log reduction of spores of C. botulinum, assuming a D-value at 121 °C of 13 s [12]. Most commercial retort processes of low-acid foods operate at F0-values considerably in excess of 3.
Since the reference temperature for the F0-value is outside the range used for UHT processing, an alternative index, the B*-value was introduced. B* is based on a reference temperature of 135 °C and a z-value of 10.5 °C. B* of 1 equates to heating at 135 °C for 10.1 s, (or equivalent conditions such as 145.5 °C for 1 s). These cause a 9-log reduction of thermophilic spores [13] and are the recommended minimum conditions for UHT processing. Most UHT processes have B*-values of >1; a survey of 23 Australian UHT plants revealed a range of B*-values from 1.6 to 16.5 [14]. B* of 1 is approximately equivalent to F0 of 4. Therefore, the recommended minimum conditions for UHT processing are more severe than those for in-container sterilization and represent a considerable food safety margin in terms of inactivating C. botulinum.
Table 1 shows the effects on a range of parameters, including B* and F0, of heating at 90–150 °C for 10 s. It demonstrates clearly that heating at 90–110 °C has little or no effect on F0 and B*. In terms of UHT processing, the normal pre-heat section, which usually operates at 90–95 °C for 30–120 s, and the later cooling stage makes no contribution to these parameters. Conversely, it shows that heating at 140 °C for 10 s exceeds the recommended minimum values for B* and F0. Table 1 also shows the effect of a typical in-container sterilization process on F0 and B* and shows the F0-value (7.76) to be in excess of the accepted minimum of 3.0.
Table 1. Effect of holding time and temperature on a range of parameters (the effects of the heat-up to, and cool-down from these temperatures were not included in the calculations).
Temp. (°C) |
B* |
F0 |
C* |
β-Lg Denaturation 1 (Cumulative) |
α-La Denaturation 1 (Cumulative) |
Browning 2 (Equivalent Time [s] at 121 °C) |
Lactulose 3 (mg/kg Milk) |
Furosine 4 (mg/100 g Protein) |
10 s holding |
90 |
0 |
0 |
0.01 |
29.1 |
1.8 |
0.66 |
0.4 |
0.49 |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0.03 |
40.2 |
3.2 |
1.6 |
1.5 |
1.02 |
110 |
0 |
0.1 |
0.05 |
51.7 |
5.6 |
3.8 |
4.6 |
2.06 |
120 |
0.04 |
0.13 |
0.11 |
62.3 |
9.5 |
9.3 |
13.3 |
4.0 |
130 |
0.33 |
1.29 |
0.23 |
71.4 |
15.7 |
22.3 |
37.1 |
7.5 |
140 |
2.96 |
12.94 |
0.47 |
78.8 |
24.2 |
53.6 |
98 |
13.8 |
150 |
26.7 |
129.4 |
0.98 |
84.4 |
35.9 |
129.2 |
247 |
24.9 |
10 min holding |
120 |
2.21 |
7.76 |
6.55 |
99.98 |
99.73 |
555 |
80 |
236 |