FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE THERMAL STABILITY OF BOVINE MILK AND THE USE OF ALCOHOL TEST IN THE MILK INDUSTRY – A REVIEW

Abstract

The dairy industry requires good quality milk with an adequate yield that does not affect the industrial process. Therefore, to produce safe food for consumers aiming to increase the shelf life of the product, the before mentioned industry makes use of heat treatment (pasteurization or UHT – Ultra-high Temperature processing). Milk must have adequate quality and high-temperature resistance; otherwise, thermal stability problems may occur. The alcohol or alizarin test is used in dairy farms to identify milk samples that present over the normal acidity and to measure their stability before being transported to the consumer market. Thus, the objective of this review was to search, in the literature, for evidence regarding the factors that interfere in the heat stability of milk and the use of the alcohol test. False-positive results are usual in samples that make use of that test, showing cases of unstable non-acid milk and putting in jeopardy the reliability of the results.