The synergic effect of urea and aldehydes on the heat stability of concentrated skim-milk

Invited review: Heat stability of milk and concentrated milk: Past, present, and future research objectives

The ability of milk and concentrated milk to withstand a defined heat treatment without noticeable changes such as flocculation of protein is commonly denoted as heat stability. A heat treatment that exceeds the heat stability limit of milk or concentrated milk, which has a much lower heat stability, may result in undesired changes, such as separation of milk fat, grittiness, sediment formation, and phase separation. Most laboratory-scale batch heating methods were developed in the early 20th century to simulate commercial sterilization, and these methods have since been standardized. Heat stability studies have been motivated by different objectives during that time, addressing different processing issues and targets in the framework of available technology, legislation, and consumer demand. Although milk hygiene has improved during the last couple of decades, rendering milk less sensitive to coagulation, different standard methods suffered from poor comparability of results, even when comparing results for the same milk sample, indicating that unknown procedural steps affect heat stability. The prediction of heat stability of concentrated milk from the heat stability results of the corresponding unconcentrated milk for rapid quality testing purposes has been difficult, mainly due to different experimental conditions. The objective of this study is to review literature on heat stability, starting from studies in the early 20th century, to summarize the vast number of studies on compositional aspects of milk affecting heat stability, and to lead the way to the most recent work related to compositional changes in concentrates produced by membrane concentration and fractionation, respectively. Particular attention is paid to early and most recent developments and findings, such as the application of kinetic models to predict and limit protein aggregation to assess and describe heat stability as a temperature-time-total milk solids continuum.

Heat stability of milk: synergic action of urea and carbonyl compounds

Urea stabilizes milk to heat only in the presence of a carbonyl compound, such as a reducing sugar. Low molecular weight carbonyl compounds can increase stability in the absence of urea whereas larger molecules, e.g. hexoses and reducing disaccharides, cannot. However, the efficacy of all carbonyl compounds is increased considerably in the presence of urea. Aldehydes and ketones of similar molecular weights appear to be equally effective stabilizers. The optimum concentration of lactose in milk for stability was approximately 1% irrespective of urea concentration within the range 5–20 mM. However, modifying the lactose content of concentrated milks (approximately 8.5% protein) had little effect on heat stability.

Heat stability of milk: the mechanism of stabilization by formaldehyde

The increase produced by formaldehyde (HCHO) in the heat stability of milk did not occur when milk was treated with HCHO at temperatures up to 60°C followed by dialysis at 5°C. However, the minimum in the heat coagulation time (HCT)–pH curve was irreversibly removed if the milk was preheated at 80–C for 10 min in the presence of 5 mM-HCHO. Although this treatment blocked the ε-amino groups of lysyl residues, the stabilizing mechanism is considered to be due to the cross linking action of HCHO which reduced the level of non-sedimentable, κ-casein-rich protein dissociated from the micelles on heating. The specific crosslinking agent, dimethyl suberimidate, modified the HCT-pH profile of milk in a manner similar to preheating at 80°C for 10 min with 5 mM-HCHO, supporting the crosslinking hypothesis. The results of this study appear to lend some support to the proposal of Kudo (1980) that the minimum in the HCT-pH curve of milk is due to the dissociation of κ-casein from the micelles on heating at high temperatures at pH values greater than 6η7.

Influence of sulphydryl group interactions on the heat stability of homogenized concentrated milk

The heat stability of homogenized concentrated milk was found to be more susceptible than that of unhomogenized concentrated milk to changes in the ratio of β-lactoglobulin to κ-casein which were deliberately designed to alter the extent of disulphide-linked complex formation during heating. When sulphydryl group interactions were prevented by the addition to the milk before homogenization of blocking or oxidizing agents, homogenization did not change the heat stability of subsequently concentrated milk.

Influence of 2-mercaptoethanol on heat stability of concentrated whey-protein-free milk and formation of soluble casein

The heat coagulation time (HCT) of concentrated whey-protein-free (WPF) milk measured at 120 and 130 °C was reduced toby addition of 5–20 mM-2-mercaptoethanol (ME). However, although the amount of soluble casein formed on heating was doubled by addition of ME, the shape of the HCT–pH profile was affected only slightly. The proportion of κ-casein in the soluble casein from heated concentrated WPF milk containing ME was very high, though it was somewhat lower than that of the soluble casein from heated concentrated WPF milk containing no ME. No solubilization of colloidal Ca phosphate was observed in either unheated or heated concentrated WPF milk on addition of ME. These facts suggest that ME probably promotes the formation of soluble casein with release of κ-casein from micelles on heating, thus destabilizing the casein micelles.

Denaturation, aggregation and heat stability of milk protein during the manufacture of skim milk powder

The effect of preheat treatment, evaporation and drying in a commercial plant on the denaturation of βlactoglobulin and α-lactalbumin, their incorporation into the casein micelle and the heat stability characteristics of the milks and powders were determined. Preheat treatments between 110 °C for 2 min and 120 °C for 3 min denatured between 80 and 91% of β-lactoglobulin and between 33 and 45% of α-lactalbumin. Evaporation increased the extent of denaturation but spray drying did not increase it further. The incorporation of α-lactalbumin and βlactoglobulin into the micelles was markedly less than the amount that denatured and was not a constant ratio to it. Heat coagulation times at 140 °C of milks, concentrates and powders diluted to the original milk concentration were measured as a function of pH. In general, the greater the collective heat treatment, the shorter the time required to achieve coagulation. Spray drying shifted the peak positions in the pH-heat coagulation time profiles. In contrast, heat coagulation times (measured at 120 °C) of concentrates and powders diluted to 20% total solids content increased with the severity of the preheat treatment. Surprisingly, spray drying markedly increased the heat coagulation times of the diluted concentrates.