MILK PROCESSING

DAIRY TECHNOLOGY
18MTFT241
MODULE II & III
Dr. Nandini Dutta
Assistant Professor
Department of Food Technology
 CONTENTS
 CHILLING & STORAGE OF MILK
 FILTRATION & CLARIFICATION
 CREAM SEPARATION
 STANDARDIZATION
 HOMOGENIZATION
 PASTEURIZATION
 MILK PROCESSING
 PACKAGING & STORAGE OF PASTEURIZED MILK
 CLEANING & SANITIZATION OF DAIRY EQUIPMENTS
 JUDGING & GRADING OF MILK
 FLAVOR DEFECTS IN MILK, THEIR CAUSES & PREVENTION, USES OF
MILK
 ACTION OF MILK ON METALS
 CHILLING & STORAGE OF MILK

The first operation in a dairy plant is reception, chilling and storage of milk. Raw milk is
pumped from the dump tank to the storage tank through a filter and chiller. The purpose of
storage tank is to hold milk at low temperature so as to maintain continuity in milk
processing operations and prevent any deterioration in quality during holding and
processing period.

The milk may arrive at a chilling center or dairy plant in cans. After unloading the cans,
milk is chilled and stored in storage tanks. Storage tanks are used to store raw or even
pasteurized milk. Milk may be held in chilled condition (< 5°C) in the tank for up to 72
hours between reception and processing. Normally the milk storage capacity should be
equivalent to one day’s intake.
Objectives of Storage Tanks

 To maintain milk at a low temperature so as to prevent any deterioration in quality prior to

processing/product manufacture.
 To facilitate bulking of raw milk supply, which will ensure uniform composition
 To allow for uninterrupted operation during processing and packaging
 To facilitate standardization of the milk

Storage Tank must be designed to maintain the required temperature and for easy cleaning and
sanitization, preferably through CIP process. Storage tanks consist of a stainless steel inner shell, a
layer of insulation, an outer jacket and necessary fittings for inspection control and cleaning.
Gentle agitation must be adequate for homogeneous mixing, which prevent churning and
incorporation of air. For foam-free entry of milk, a curved filling pipe, which guides the milk towards
the wall is used. It is better to fill the tank from below. Now-a-days, big sized silos, > 1.0 lakh litres
capacity are installed in the dairies. Cylindrical tanks are preferred over Rectangular tanks, for better
cleaning and agitation effect.

Types: Insulated storage tanks; Refrigerated tanks; Horizontal or vertical tanks

Horizontal milk storage tank Vertical milk storage tank
 CHILLING EQUIPMENTS
Surface cooler: It can be either an individual unit or cabinet type. Cabinets are larger than those used on the farm/chilling
centre.

Plate chiller: Large scale cooling of milk of 5000 to 60,000 lit./day at the chilling centers; Efficient, compact and easily
cleanable. In chiller the gasket plates are tightly held between the plates. These plates are so arranged that milk flows on one
side of plate and cooling medium (usually chilled water) on the other in a counter flow direction through alternate plates. It
helps in efficient transfer of heat to the cooling medium resulting in quick chilling of milk. The chilled milk flows from the
plate cooler to the insulated storage tank at 4°C. A mechanical refrigeration system is needed.

Internal tubular cooler: It is a continuous cooling system consisting of a stainless steel tube surrounded by a similar tube,
forming a concentric cylinder. Several such tubes may then be connected in series to obtain sufficient cooling. The cooling
medium flows counter current to the milk flow.

Vat/tank cooling: It is suitable for batch cooling, especially of small quantity. It consists of a tank within the tank, with the
space between the two being used for circulation of the cooling medium, by either pump or main pressure. An agitator is
provided to agitate the milk for rapid cooling.
 FILTRATION AND CLARIFICATION
During handling of milk on farm and its transportation, certain visible particles and dirt may gain access into the
milk which may be removed by either filtration or centrifugal clarification. Filtration/clarification equipment
has been designed for both cold and warm milk. Since fluidity of warm milk is more, its separation process is
more efficient. However, warming of milk for this purpose requires additional equipment. It also poses the
risk of bacterial growth unless handled properly. Handling at higher temperatures may also affect creaming
property of the milk besides dissolving some of the extraneous matter.

Pre-heating : Heating of milk before the operation which follows immediately to about 35-40°C using plate
or tubular heater for efficient filtration/clarification. Pre-heating becomes essential, if the incoming milk is cold.
As the temp. increases, the viscosity of milk decreases resulting in more efficient filtration/clarification.

Straining: The practice of straining milk was introduced to remove some of the large particles of foreign
material such as straw, hair, insects, grass, dirt, flies, etc., so that the visible sediment in milk might be reduced.
The straining in the ordinary sense is accomplished on the dairy farm by means of pieces of cloth, cotton, wire
gauge or specially prepared strainers/strainer pads.

Removal visible sediment (foreign matter) from the milk to improve the aesthetic quality of milk is done
either by filtration or centrifugal clarification
Filtration: Straining process Clarification: Centrifugal force.
 FILTRATION
Tubular sieve removes dirt by sieving and is placed in the inlet pipe in the processing section
permitting the removal of coarser particles only.

Features of filter: Filter cloth or pad (nylon bag) of the desired pore size (25 - 100 µ); Frame
or support to compress and hold the margins of filter; perforated metal support (Stainless
steel) to avoid tear or break under the pressure of milk; Enclosure / closed system fitted
suitably with inlet (unfiltered milk) and outlet (filtered milk) connections for sanitary piping;
Tight fitting lid; For continuous operation to handle large volumes 2 or more filters used

Filtration time depends on Milk Flow rate and Pore size; Changing/cleaning of filter after
every 6 h of operation is recommended

For cold filtration: In-line filter installed in the milk receiving line between the raw milk
dump tank, unloading pump and chiller or raw milk storage tank.

For warm filtration: Filters installed in the pasteurization circuit.

Advantages: Preheating is not essential; lesser chance of presence of soluble dirt;

Disadvantage: Milk flow is slow.
 CLARIFICATION
Clarification is more efficient than filtration for the removal of dirt and foreign matter from
milk. Clarification also removes leucocytes, bacteria, some milk protein and fat, ash, udder
tissues, other large cells and fine dirt. The objective of clarification is to improve the
appearance and marketability of milk.

Clarification process: Raw milk is pumped and introduced radially inwards through central
pipe (axis of rotation). The milk flows between the rotating conical discs (10 - 20 discs with
are stacked spaced evenly) into the rotating/centrifugal bowl. The ratio of bowl diameter to
disc diameter determines the Sludge space area which is around the discs. The time of
passage of raw milk through the radial width of the discs allows the separation process by
the centrifugal force. The dirt particles which have a higher specific gravity are separated
and accumulated in the sludge space area. Lighter clean milk flows inwards in between the
discs towards center and move upwards and ejected out of the outlet. Accumulated sludge are
removed from the bowl by 1) dismantling clarifier at regular interval (1-8h); 2) self sludging
process having an outlet.The pressure is about 5.4 bars.

The amount of foreign matter / sludge depends on - Condition of the udder, Stage of
lactation, bacterial count and acidity of the milk, clarifying temp., speed of the bowl, Amount
of milk.

A clarifier may be operated depending on the size of the machine, for a period ranging from 2
- 8 h for cold milk (5 - 10°C) and 1-4 h for warm milk (57°C), without cleaning.
 Parameters Cold clarification Warm clarification
Location • Storage tank and the pasteurizer • Pre-heater and the pasteurizer
(between) • Receiving room and the storage • Regeneration section of HTST pasteurizer and heating section
tank • Final heater and the holding tube of the HTST pasteurizer
Efficiency Lower since viscosity of milk is high Higher due to lower viscosity of milk.
Operation time More Reduced

COMPOSITION OF CLARIFIER SLIME OR SLUDGE CLARIFIER vs. CREAM SEPERATOR

CONSTITUENTS MOIST SLIME % CLARIFIER CREAM SEPERATOR
Water 67.3 One inlet (raw milk) & One inlet (raw milk) & two
one outlet (clarified milk) outlets (cream and skim milk)
T.S. 32.7
Discs are smaller in dia. Discs have larger dia.& no
Fat 1.1 for sludge space sludge space
Protein 25.9 Holes on the disc are at Holes on the disc are near the
Ash 3.6 the outer edge axis of rotation (center)
Lactose 2.1
 FACTORS AFFECTING CLARIFICATION
1. Viscosity: Lower density and viscosity improves the efficiency of separation.

2. Temperature: Viscosity of liquid decreases as the temp. increases. Hence, milk is usually heated to a temperature of 32-35°C
before it is subjected to clarification. Too high temp. must be avoided as it adversely affects the creaming property of milk.

3. Bowl speed: The higher the speed or centrifugal force, the better is the efficiency

4. Microbial load: The type and state of microbe influences the efficiency of clarification. The bacterial spores being denser are
thrown into the slime more easily.

** Effect of clarification on the bacterial quality: Since a large number of microbes are thrown into the clarifier ‘slime’, there
will be fewer microbes in clarified milk. Due to the breaking up of the clumps of bacteria during the process, there may be an
apparent increase in the plate count of clarified milk. Hence, it apparently seems that the plate count of milk is higher after
clarification, while the actual number of organisms in the clarified milk is considerably lower.

**The removal of slime does not affect the composition of milk, since the loss of solids resulting from clarification is usually
< = 0.01%. Neither filtration nor clarification improves the keeping quality of milk.
BACTOFUGATION
• Most of the microorganisms are inactivated by pasteurization. However, the highly heat
resistant spores survive pasteurization. They can lead to significant quality defects in
hard cheese, semi-hard cheese or long-life products due to proteolysis, lipolysis and gas
formation.

• Process of removal of microorganisms from milk using centrifugal force.

The objectives of bactofugation are as follows:

 To improve hygienic quality of milk
 To avoid heat resistant bacteria without resorting to excessive heating
 To ensure exceptionally high degree of bacteriological purity in milk.
BACTOFUGATION
• Milk is sterilized by separation of microorganisms, mainly spore formers
(Bacilli/Clostridia) at lower temperature-time combinations.

• Density difference (skim milk – 1.036; bacteria – 1.07 – 1.13 g/cm3)

• It removes bacteria, both living and dead, from treated substances whereas traditional
heat treatment kills bacteria and leaves them in food.

• Clarified and standardized milk is pumped into a plate heat exchanger, where it is heated to
a temperature of 60-75°C prior to being fed to the bactofuge.

• It is about 3% of the feed by volume and represents a reduction in total bacteria by

approximately 50-60%.