A rapid heating and cooling of milk significantly reduces the amount of harmful bacteria present, extending the shelf life of one of the most common refrigerator staples in the world by several weeks, according to a Purdue University study.
The results were published in a scientific journal last week and show that increasing the temperature of milk by 10 degrees for less than a second eliminates more than 99 percent of the bacteria left behind after pasteurization. Study organizer Bruce Applegate says “It’s an add-on to pasteurization, but it can add shelf life of up to five, six or seven weeks to cold milk.” Phillip Myer, an assistant professor of animal science at the University of Tennessee, says the process uses the heat already necessary for pasteurization to rapidly heat milk droplets. Myer said the promise of the technology is that it could reduce waste and allow milk to reach distant locations where transport times using only pasteurization would mean that milk would have a short shelf life upon arrival.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.