Transport - Food processing Dairy Flavoured Milk_KnO 100224

Flavoured milk

Practical Action

Transport

The transportation of milk from the storage room to the

market should be in a refrigerated vehicle if the distance to

be covered is long. But for a short distance which takes less

than an hours drive, refrigeration is not necessary.

Quality control

Hygiene and raw material control

As milk is a low acid food that is very susceptible to spoilage and transfer of pathogenic bacteria

to consumers, the methods used to handle milk at the dairy play an important role in

determining the quality of the final product. The main hygienic requirements are:

 Thoroughly clean and sterilize (with chlorine solution or boiling water) all equipment and

utensils before and after processing (NB aluminium equipment should not be cleaned

with chlorine solution).

 Strict enforcement of personal hygiene measures.

 Filter milk after milking to remove visible dirt and any 'ropiness'

 Cool milk immediately to control further growth of micro-organisms and enzyme activity.

Process control

The main control points are the temperature and time involved in heating and cooling the milk.

Overheating and slow cooling causes changes to flavour, colour and nutritional value;

underheating may result in inadequate destruction of enzymes and micro-organisms leading to a

reduced shelf life and the risk of food poisoning.

Packaging and storage

During packaging the most important quality control check is to ensure that filling equipment,

bottles and caps are thoroughly cleaned and sterilized to prevent recontamination of the heat

treated milk. This is especially important if the bottles are reused. Bottle fill weights should be

accurately controlled and storage temperatures should be controlled below 10°C.

Equipment/materials:

 Filling machine; Capping machine; Bottle sterilising equipment; Thermometer; Filtering

pads; Milk cooler; Refrigerator