DEV AV Leer i at) ‘Traditionally, dairies have been limited to just two basic processing options for supplying the consumer with liquid milk - pasteurisation or ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) treatment. But in the last ten years, a third alternative, extended shelf life, or ESL milk has been steadily gaining ground in markets around the world. Dairy processing equipment manufacturers have not been slow to recognise the increasing demand for ESL milk processing.A range of solutions are now available, right up to complete processing and filling lines, designed, constructed and installed by a single supplier, With the promise of further refinements to come, the future for ESL milk processing looks bright and provides a ray of hope in a sector where growth can be very difficult to achieve. Pascurised sind UHT milks are easy to define and to deseribe, Raw milk requizes a heat process to ensure microbiological safety plus a reasonable shelf life and minim processes for heat-treating mill are set OUT in EU legislation. ‘That heat FOOD ENGINEERING & INGREDIENTS 6 process could be pasteurisation, typically rst) proves of 72.75°C for 15-40 seconds in 1 high tempersture-shor time oder dairies, of comercial steilis Xion, which is now almos exclusively an Ulta high temperature (UIT) proce usually in dhe region of 135-145°C for 2:5 seconds, Pasteurised mul is usally soled as iesh’ hi life of fess than ‘2 rcatively short shelf days at ebll tempers tures, bt resains most ofthe flavour and nuitiional ylue of raw milk, tn contrast, UHT processed milk will Keep at ambient temperature forat least six months but tends to have a slight ‘cooked’ taste and lower levels of certain vitamins In Some respects, BSL milk slots neatly in between the two, ypiclly achieving a shelf He of atleast 20 days (up to 60 days in some cases), but retaining much of the taste and nutsional aucibutes of fresh pasteurised milk, There is no cumrent incexnationally accepted definition for ESL ilk, although it ean be loosely defined as FEBRUARY/MARCH 2008» VOLUNE 24 + ISSUE 4‘having a longer shel life than fresh pas teursed milk under equivalent chilled sto= age and distribution condiiions. There ane several ciferent technological approaches for proxhicing that extension in shel ie (ee below) and the name is something ‘of a blanket term for a range of different products, Whar they all have in common is the valuable extension fo shelf hfe andthe sensory advantages over UHT milk An opportunity for dairies The benefits for liquid milk processors of SL. technology ate substantial — the biggest hon being thatthe significantly longer she life allows for much extended clsrbusion chains ving dies access to much bigger potential markets. Some uropean dies adopting FSI. process- ing ave reported 10 have inex dlstabution area by 50% or more, Other advantages of the extended shelf lite fnclude fewer prodivtion runs, less prox ct spoilage ane! therefore lens wastage and customer retuns, [io possible to ‘ddl & price premium For branded ESL mill scams avant fn. Seto where the product is often regarded as a commodity ane priced accordingly. A good example ff this isthe Cravendale brand of ESI mill produced in the UK by Arle Foods. though the Furopean market for guid drinking milks ac best static and mare Iie in slow decline, the marker share for ESL products hs been growing rapidly. It is dificult vo obesin precise market share Figures because sales of ESL products are ‘not usually recorded! separately from those cf pasteurised milk and estimates vary considerably. The picture is futher compli ceed by the varying consumption patterns in different countries. For example, cone ssumers in the UK and Scandinavia prefer Fresh pasteurised mils, which accounts for Lp to 85% of deinkking milk sales, whereas fn France and Spain, UT mille deme rates dhe met, The biggest European rmatket is Germany, where its estimated that 20-2586 of drinking milk sales are ESL proxluets, but there is evidence of strongly growing markets in other cous, such fs the UK, the Netherlands and Austria. lsewhere, growth has been steady in the FOOD ENGINEERING & INGREDIENTS. US marker and ako in Japan, where ESL mil now wecounts for most ofthe drinking smilk market. There is aso much interest in emerging markets for day products in ‘Asia, Bur the biggest potential for ESL ‘considered to be in smaller volume, higiver ue products, such as Mavoured nd fort- fied drinking milk products, organic mils, liguiel youhusts and mil-based drinks. The potential is clear andl tis no surprise that any European dairy producers are look= ing closely at ESL technology as a vehicle for growth and innovation, Choose your technological solution A the heat of ESL. processing les an inital process capable of destroying mile borne pathogens, such as Semone, reckicing the overall microbial population ofthe raw mil 10 much Fower levels than traltional pasteurisation to delay spoilage and so exten shel Wife tis paiculrty inuportant thatthe process kills or removes 3 high proportion of heat resistant bacte rial spores ~ the major ease of miewbial least 20 days. ESL milk can achieve a shel life of at spoilage in BSL miles “There are three main methods used 10 achieve this, High temperature heat treatment “The most obvious route to obtaining aan extended shelf ie for mill, without rifcing ll the sensory advantages of paszeurised milk, i 10 apply a be ‘ment that destroys more microorga than pasteursation, hut does not achieve ‘commercial erty like UHTT This can he done by heating standardised milk (0 a relatively high temperature fora short time, followed by rapid cooling. Several lifierent technologies have been devel ‘oped 10 deliver such a process using, cither direct of indirect heating methods, Dist heating using steam injection, oc seam infusion, isthe most common sed process for ESL milk. Atypical process can ‘quickly rise the temperature of preshested nil from about TC 10 a point within the range 120-145°C and hold it for just 05-40 secon Fish cooling then applied 10 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2000 « VOLUME 34 SUE 1Yaya Leelee 101) reduce the temperature to 780°C very ‘quickly, minimising product cimage. The INIZO food research organisation in the Netherlands fy developed a process called Tonovative Seam Injection, o II, which ‘can beat mille o very high temperatures (150-200°0) for extremely shor times (ess {dun 0.1 second. ISL i stl ta be very eee te at inactivating heatesistant bacterial spores, bu the shor heating time has been Found to have litle elfeet on taste in come pison to conventional LTT processing. Inditect heating with heat exchangers ex also be used to deliver a similar process, 'ypieally 125°C for two second’ Bactofugation and low temperature heat treatment Buctofugation was one ofthe fist teclinoo- ses used to produce ESL milk in te 1990 snd is sil in use although newer methods have begun to rephice it. Developed from hermetic centrifugal milk separates, the Fnaetofuge was fist used to prices mull for cheese progiiction to remove some of the Fhactesal spores Unt case ‘te blowing spoilage. But in the 1990s bactougation was applic to iid drinking milk. The device separates particles with a diferent density from silk by centfagal force and is able toachieve up 10 90% redutions in tral Ducterial count, while removing up t0 959% ‘of bacterial spores. The processed tls then subjected to a conventional HTST pas- teursation process, giving 2 usefl shelf ie Increase of 5-15 days depending on stonige temperature, The retentate containing bacte- ria and spores can be seniised separately at «higher temperature ang addled ack 19 the nil, or escaced Microfiltration and low temperature heat treatment Like bactofugation, microfiltration relies ‘on che physical separation of bacterit and spores from mill (0 extend! its shelf life, but the process is capable of achieving _greater reductions in bacterial numbers. Many of the commercially avaiable branded ESL milk preduets on sale fo Europe currently use this process and a shelf life of 25-30 days or more can be achieved at 4C, FOOD ENGINEERING © INGREDIENTS ‘The micro-flers used are typically ccerimiic membrane cross-flow filters with 4 pore size of 8 2.0 yum. Mil fat can not De filtered and so is separated Fest and heatiscated using a URT process The remaining skimmed! mil is then passed ihrough the filters removing 99.5% (oF more of the hacer cells and spores present, The filtered mill: fs chen HIST pasteurised an! the heat-rewied cream is uldled back. Crossflow filtration produces A concentrated bacteria-tich retentate, which is either discarded, oF UHT-eated sand added ack to the mils. An altemative to cersmie filters is the dcep-bed filtration process cleveloped by GEA TDS in Germany. This uses poly propylene filter cartridges consisting of 4 predilter with a nominal pore size of 03 yim anid a main iter with a pore size (of 0.2 um, Bacterial cells and spores are tapped in de heey of the filker and no Fetemtate is produced. In all ether respects the process is sid 10 comespond to ‘conventional mierofikeation, successful shelf life extension also depends on effective hygiene after processing to ensure that the treated milk does not become recontaminated. Hygiene plays a crucial role Alhough removing potential patho. gens and spoilage bacteria from mill by heat-treatment or physical separation techniques are the core of ESL. tech rotoay, successfl shel Ie extension also depends on effective hygiene after processing to ensure thatthe tated rill does not hecome recontaninated For example, treated milk is usually hel in sterile aseptic tanks prior to filing 1m hygienically designed and operated lines, In et, some nf the aseptic Bling processes typically used to fll LH products have een aespted for use with ESL milks, The packaging is also usually presterilisel, 1 cally using hydrogen petonide and UV light, before filing. The main difference between ESL. and URT processes isthe need for ripid cooling of the produet down to chill temperatures and the maintenance of an effective cold cain for ESL milk distribution. ESL milks depend on the integriry of the entire produetion process, from raw milk storage through processing, hygienic filling sad elfectve temperature control chroaighout shelf lie, Suppliers can provide dedicated ESL equipment ‘The manufactures of daity processing equipment have been quick to relive the potential Of ESL processing and many of the big players inthe sector, including “Tetra Pak, Krones and APV/Elopak, bave tuncheel procs aoned a this tanker A pioneer of ESL technology in Europe 8 the collaboration between packaging producer Elopak and processing experts APV 10 develop the Pure-Lae system for ESL milk, Pure-Lac uses a direct heating, 1 infusion process to apply a bigh emperature heat treatment to the milk and then utilises Flopak’s hygienic filling and packing expense o create a com= plete processing line for ESL milk, rec- cogaising that the extended shelf life isa function of the entire production process and not just the processing step. A shelf life of 14 = 45 days ot a relatively high 10 is suid to he achievable depending fon the quality of the a milk (Other suppliers include GEA TDS, which has developed products specifically for the FSL processing market and will be Featuring some of them at Anuga Food- Tee 2008 in Cologne on 10!— 13° March, The company can supply four clferent ‘options for BSL processing: direct heat ing by stem injection; indirect heating featuring newly-developed tubular heat exchangers; micrSilation using eenamnic ‘membrane filters and deep-hed filration process. HE-Finnatee is another supplier FESRUARYMARCH 2009 + VOLUME 24 «ISSUE 4Dairy processi valle-added niche pra flavoured milks. {0 address PSL processing and the German-hased company has also devel ‘oped high temperature heat-treatment snd rmicrofilration equipment. A recent teak! has been for equip- ment minufietiners to supply complete processing solutions for ESL products, tften in modular form, 10 avoid the cil ‘cules inherent in integrating processing equipment from several manufacturers into a single processing line and ensure consistent hygienic design throughout the operation. For example, Kiones his done this using various combinations ~ depend: ing on the application — ofits moclular VarioFlash and Varioasept heat-crearment and filing systems, which ean also be combined with peripherals, such as the arioClean CIP syscee, Tetra Pak his developed the idea. fore ther with what it deseribes is a “holistic approach’ to ESL. Launched in 2005, the 4351. concept can offer all thnve processing ‘options, high temperature heat-nextment, bactolugation snd microfleaion (Tetra ‘Therm Aseptic VIIS, Tetra Centr and Tetra Aleross) and Uhre filling package Ing options (letra Top, Tetra Res and Tetra Brik} ~ hence the 3 in 3$L~ in the integrated combinatfon hest suited to the specific product. Tetra Pak claims to be the only supplier that can offer all the equipment and preduets needed for F000 ENGINEERING & INGREDIENTS sn PSL line froma single company. The company i also active in developing ESL technology and has recently signed an sgicement with the Flusxion technology g10up 10 collaborate on the development of improved membrane Fikers for inierofitration applicstions Development potential The growth of ESL mille products has prompted processors to explo inno tive ideas for exploiting the advantages ofthe technology further, One of these isthe use of col Eling systems to ak heat sensitive ingredients to mk before fling, So-alled aseptic col fling (ACF) systems, sich as the Krones PET-Asept stem are modular designs thar use clean room technology to eveate a sete ling environment, The packaxing i steiised befor filling and advanced inskaion {ecimology is used 10 contol product temperature daring the fling operation. Afier processing, the mille cooled rap idly and held below 5° before filing. ACF alloois heat-sensitive packaging, such 2s PET bottles, to be used for ESL mils, but ako provides opposites to add delicate flavours, nutrients and even probiotics, between prmcessing and filing Equipment such as Tetra Pak's Aeom Pak aseptic dosing system can be used to adel Ingredienis in this way. The technology ‘opens up new opportunities for « — 10 processors to develop new value-added niche products, such as flavoured mils, foiled milks and other products with health benefits, These developments ace tly feasible becuse BSI. mille has suf: ficient shelf life and sensory quality to make it worthwhile, Other possibilities include the use of alternative processes to remove bacteria fom raw mill, High hydrostatic pressure processing (HHP) and pulse electric fields (PEF) have beth been considered in combination with aseptic filing as a means of extending shell Ke sill futher BSL processing has been & promising technology’ in some sectors for many ‘years, but in dairy processing ale seems t have come of age. Neverthe less, there will he challenges ahead. For example, while the consolidation of sinall daisies and creation of much longer distribution chains may look good to processors, hey ane less in tine with the concems of farmers and environmental campaigners, who suppor: local sourcing of food and the contraction of complex distribution networks. Thete is also the question of legislation. 18 ESL mill, essentially just pasteurised mils from a regulatory point of view, or should it be regulated separately, particularly from a food safety point of view, Processors will hope the European Commission sind national authorities adopt the former approach, but as the technokgy devel- ops, it seems likely that specific regula tions could soon appear, Labelling too is am issue. There have already been come plaints about the application of words like *pure™ and “fresh” to ESL milk snd suggestions that consumers are being misled. Nevertheless if these éstes can be resolved satisfactorily, ESL process: ing could be the shot in the sim that the European liguid milk sector really needs Comments on article? Feel fr to post them at rae elie cniconmer ty poesing own FEDRUARV/MARCH 2009 + VOLUME 24 « SUE 1