Dairy Chemistry: Processing and Storage

Dear Colleagues,

Milk has a wide range of physiological functions in addition to the basic nutrients for human growth and development that it provides. The digestion of milk proteins leads to the synthesis of bioactive peptides which have been found to have human health-promoting benefits. In maintaining stability and increasing shelf life, milk is typically subjected to pasteurization or sterilization. The resultant “commercially sterile” product(s) may then be stored at ambient temperature (<‐20 °C to ≥30 °C) for 6 months or more. During the industrial processing and storage of milk products, many chemical changes in milk components occur. These changes majorly affect the sensory characteristics and/or nutritional value of the milk product. It is important to emphasize that all chemical reactions in milk are temperature‐dependent and any initiated during processing will continue to take place during storage. In terms of the effect on sterilization product quality, storage is by far the most variable and therefore most indeterminable factor. Thus, it is necessary to explore the changes that take place in sterilized products (such as UHT treated dairy products) during storage, especially those that influence product safety and quality. Such information will be beneficial in determining the possible condition of the product at the end of its shelf‐life, even under adverse storage conditions.

Contributions to this Special Issue may cover all research aspects related to chemistry and nutrition of milk during heat treatment and storage, including (but not limited to) the known heat‐induced changes that proteins, fat, lactose and minor components undergo during processing and storage. It will also cover the effect of the aforementioned changes on the physical and nutritional qualities of milk and milk products pertaining to: (1) the changes in UHT products during storage, especially those that influence product safety and quality and (2) the major changes which affect product sensory characteristics and/or nutritional value. Furthermore, the recent advances in analytical approaches, omics science and biotechnology which are offer new and interesting insights into their characterization are also covered.

Prof. Dr. Ying Ma
Guest Editor

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• milk and milk products
• heat treatment
• storage
• milk components
• nutrition
• functional properties
• UHT milk
• milk quality and safety