Dairy and egg products
Mild preservation of dairy and egg products
Product examples: Milk products, yoghurt drinks, desserts, spray dried milk powder and whey powder, protein based infant formula, liquid eggs
Aim PEF treatment: Microbial inactivation, increased shelf life
Heat sensitive
For heat-sensitive liquid foods where thermal pasteurization is not an option, PEF treatment would be advantageous. Fresh milk contains important heat-sensitive bioactive components such as vitamins and proteins. Pulsemaster’s process allows microbial inactivation of heat sensitive liquids and viscous semi-liquids. By permeabilizing cell membranes of micro-organisms PEF enables a targeted shelf life increase, retaining product quality and freshness.
Mild preservation of milk
Worldwide there is an increasing interest in raw milk because of its health benefits and intense, full flavour. Mild preservation by applying pulsed electric field technology is an excellent way to make raw milk safe without losing nutrients and affecting flavour. The required field strength for milk is 10 – 20 kV/cm and the energy delivery is 100 – 600 kJ/kg.
Spray drying at low temperatures
Application areas in dairy include production of milk powders by combining PEF treatment and spray drying with low temperatures, without destroying the activity of bioactive molecules. This way the microbial load of milk powder and whey protein is reduced.
Egg processing
Liquid whole egg processing by combined PEF treatment and storage at low temperatures enables a shelf life increase without the addition of preservatives. PEF treatment of liquid whole eggs decreases the viscosity but increases the color compared to fresh eggs.
Benefits PEF
- Mild preservation
- Longer shelf life
- Higher process efficiency by reductions in energy, labor and running costs
- Vitamins, minerals, pigments, antioxidants and flavors are retained producing a healthier, fresher and more appetizing final product
- Bioactive milk proteins are hardly affected
- Extended shelf life results in greater flexibility for production planning
- Continuous process and rapid technique
- Small equipment footprint and quick start up of the process
- Low energy requirement
More information
Pulsemaster has developed industrial scale equipment – named Conditioner – with treatment capacities up to 5,000 l/h (1320 US gal./h) for microbial inactivation. Appropriate field strengths range from 10 to 20 kV/cm. The energy delivery is 100 to 600 kJ/kg.