Did you know that a study from the Milk Quality Improvement Program found that consumers prefer 14-day-old fluid milk that has been protected from light over freshly pasteurized milk that has been exposed to strong lights? This light exposure results in light oxidized defects, sometimes called “light struck” defect. Check out our infographic on light oxidation in fluid milk to learn more about this defect and how to prevent it.
Nicole Martin, PhD
It’s been a busy few months here in the Milk Quality Improvement Program which means we have several new peer-reviewed publications out in the Journal of Dairy Science and JDS Communications. Find brief summaries of these papers below, as well as links to the open-access articles online.
In the first study, Butyric acid-producing bacterial spore levels in conventional raw milk vary by farm, we report levels of butyric acid-producing bacterial (BAB) spores in raw milk collected from 7 similarly managed conventional dairy farms. These BAB spores can be quite a problem for farmers and cheese manufacturers’, causing a defect called late blowing that renders the product unsaleable after ~60 days of aging. Despite the similarities in management across the farms in our study, the levels of BAB spores differed a great deal from farm to farm. Read more about this study in JDS Communications https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910222001351
The second article, Culture-independent bacterial cell extraction from fluid milk and oat-based beverage for basic qualitative microscopy, outlines a rapid, practical culture-independent method for quickly visualizing bacterial cells in fluid milk and other products. This method was developed because butterfat and protein in the milk matrix make microscopic visualization of bacterial cells challenging. We use an extraction technique that eliminates these components to allow for rapid diagnosis of bacterial contamination. Read more about our method and its uses in our JDS Communications paper https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666910222001582
Lastly, our invited review paper, Redefining raw milk quality—Evaluation of raw milk microbiological parameters to ensure high-quality processed dairy products, discusses the primary groups of microbial contaminants in raw milk and their implications on processed dairy product quality. This review further calls for a three-tiered approach to redefining raw milk quality using i) process control testing, ii) monitoring, and, iii) troubleshooting. Read our full review in the Journal of Dairy Science https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S002203022300005X
Aljosa Trmcic
Last November (Nov. 2nd-5th, 2021), Chicago was the host of Process Expo 2021, a trade show that brought together food and beverage processors, equipment manufacturers, and other companies that offer useful solutions to the Food Industry. The Milk Quality Improvement Program was there as part of their constant mission to identify new dairy technologies and assist dairy processors in evaluating the efficacy and value of these innovations.
There were a number of different equipment manufacturers exhibiting at the show that manufacture drains, pumps, valves, and other equipment that can be considered more traditional types of technologies. It was very positive to see that even within this more traditional technology arena, manufacturers are still working on further developing and improving the equipment. For example, one company introduced a centrifugal pump with new patented impellers that minimizes sheer and increases performance. Another company introduced innovations in drain shape and installation design that improves the longevity of drains and floors by minimizing the stress on both the drain and the floor during temperature fluctuations in the processing environment. There were also a number of innovations applied to these traditional pieces of equipment that improve the sanitary design and also makes them more user friendly.
When it comes to the dairy industry, heat exchangers would probably be considered the most traditional pieces of equipment and even here manufacturers were able to present some innovative designs. First one being an innovation in how heat exchanger plates are compressed together into the final press to eliminate long horizontal rods that can be found protruding into the space on some of the older plate heat exchangers. In addition, they also introduced improvements to labeling and design of the plates to prevent incorrect assembly and modifying the inlet portion of the plates to increase the distribution of the product across the plates and increase the efficiency of the heat exchanger. Another exhibitor also introduced improvements to efficiency of their tubular heat exchangers by introducing corrugation to the tubes in the heat exchanger which is a concept that can already be seen in plate heat exchanger siblings. Aside of these minor innovations introduced to different heat exchangers we are still to see if any new technology will ever replace this traditional piece of equipment that for so long has provided the dairy industry with the means to deliver that very important kill step and assure dairy products are safe.
The last large segment that needs to be mentioned is technology that relates to cleaning and sanitation. Almost all exhibitors at the trade show presented some innovation that relates to cleaning and sanitation, new sanitary design, or cleaning and sanitation equipment and chemicals. These innovations are probably also the one type of innovation that processors are exposed to the most through direct advertisement form the manufacturers inside and outside of the trade show. Although proper cleaning and sanitation is one of the most important aspects of making food, we will not go into details about what these numerous innovations are. We will maybe only mention one piece of technology that caught our eye. This technology utilizes, maybe the long forgotten, power of steam to clean and disinfect food surfaces. One application of steam, that is relevant in the era of FSMA and environmental monitoring, involves a simple rubber boot attached to a steam generator that can be used to treat drains and potentially inactivate pathogens. After seeing so many root-cause analyses of environmental monitoring activities pointing to old and pitted drains as the harborage points, this simple piece of equipment just might be that little innovation that can protect our product, customers and our business from environmental pathogens; that is until we do the right thing and fix those floors and drains.
New technologies are an important component in satisfying the demand for dairy products and dairy ingredients, but these technologies need to be safe, effective, and promising for companies to invest in the implementation of these new solutions. The Milk Quality Improvement Program is continuously searching for new technologies that might be of interest to the dairy industry and evaluating them to be able to give better insight into how realistic, effective, and worthwhile these specific technologies are.
Is your business being approached by companies selling tempting new technologies, but your team isn’t sure if the investment is worth it? Our Milk Quality Improvement Program is assisting dairy processors with this question. We are seeking input on which emerging processing technologies are of interest to dairy processors to help evaluate the efficacy and value of these advancements. You can share your thoughts with us by emailing Aljosa Trmcic at at543@cornell.edu or Rob Ralyea at rdr10@cornell.edu.
Nicole Martin, PhD
The Milk Quality Improvement Program recently hosted a series of three webinars highlighting the role that Cornell plays in dairy food innovation in New York. From resources for dairy producers to cutting edge dairy foods processing and product research, and services offered through Cornell that facilitate dairy food innovation, our series covered why NY is the home of dairy foods innovation.
The first of the three webinars, “Dairy Foods Innovation Begins at the Farm”, we featured Dr. Thomas Overton (Department Chair and Professor, Animal Science Department), Dr. Paul Virkler (Senior Extension Associate, Quality Milk Production Services) and Dr. Daryl Nydam (Professor, Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Services; Faculty Director, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability). Our speakers discussed the many ways in which Cornell partners with NY dairy producers to ensure the availability of a consistent, high quality raw milk supply for dairy foods processors. A full recording of the webinar can be accessed on the Milk Quality Improvement Program (MQIP) YouTube channel here.
In the second webinar, “Dairy Foods Innovation Research at Cornell”, which featured faculty from the Department of Food Science at Cornell, including Dr. Samuel Alcaine (Assistant Professor), Dr. Carmen Moraru (Department Chair and Professor), Dr. Alireza Abbaspourrad (Assistant Professor) and Dr. Syed Rizvi (Professor), attendees were introduced to the research on new processing technologies, innovative value-added dairy ingredients, utilization of dairy by-products and more. Find the full recording of the webinar here.
In our final dairy foods innovation webinar, “Facilitating Dairy Foods Innovation through Cornell Services”, our speakers included Rob Ralyea, MS (General Manager of the Cornell Food Processing and Development Laboratory), Alina Stelick, MS (Manager of the Cornell Sensory Evaluation Center) and Phillip Owh, MS (Associate Direct, Licensing & Business Development for Life Sciences at Cornell). In this final installment of our webinar series, attendees were introduced to services available through Cornell to dairy industry stakeholders that facilitate innovation, including pilot processing facilities and consulting support, sensory evaluation by consumer and expert panels and licensing of Cornell technology. Find the full recording of the webinar here.
Part 1
Aljosa Trmcic
Last November (Nov. 2nd-5th, 2021), Chicago was the host of Process Expo 2021, a trade show that brought together food and beverage processors, equipment manufacturers, and other companies that offer useful solutions to the Food Industry. The Milk Quality Improvement Program was there as part of their constant mission to identify new dairy technologies and assist dairy processors in evaluating the efficacy and value of these innovations. Although at the first glance this trade show seemed dominated by solutions for the meat and poultry industry, there were number of different innovations featured that show overall progress in food processing and support technologies including the ones that might be of interest to the Dary Industry.
We start with three technologies that organizers themself identified as the top innovations within individual food and beverage segments. (i) The first is a clamp-on temperature sensor, a showcase winner within the Dairy segment as well as the winner of the People’s Choice Award. By clamping-on to any section of the product piping system this relatively simple innovation offers both a noninvasive way of measuring temperature of the product as well as flexibility in where in the piping system these measurements can be taken. Although this sensor shows a lot of potential, any potential users are advised to pay strict attention to proper calibration of the device and validation of the measurements obtained by the device. (ii) The second innovation, that was honored by the Pet Foods and Treats segment, was an in-line imaging system that uses multiple spectrums of light to identify physical contaminants, like plastic, metal, wood, rubber, as well as provide some information related to the chemical composition of the product, like water and fat content. This innovation that offers a possible alternative to classical metal and X-ray detectors might see wider use by the Food Industry in the future including some large cheese processors. (iii) The Confectionery, Candy, and Sweets segment gave the award for the top innovation to battery-less sensors that are currently still limited to monitoring only small specific niches of process parameters; for example, monitoring decrease in machine performance by measuring increase in machine vibration or monitoring decrease in steam trap performance by measuring increase in temperature of surrounding air due to steam escaping from the steam trap. Even though the use of these innovative sensors might be limited now, they are the start of what will probably very soon define how process parameters are measured and used in the future. These sensors do not need external power and are able to continuously sense, process and wirelessly transmit data which makes them one of the key components that are enabling the development of technology called Internet of Things (IoT), a technology that could one day be able to control the process of food making with no or minimal human involvement.
Another advanced piece of technology that will no doubt shape the future of the food industry is Augmented Realty (AR). The AR technology merges digital elements and real physical world elements into modified reality; for example, overlaying live video with digital imaging or animation. One innovative trade show exhibitor shared their success story with offering AR solutions to the food industry. They showed that through the use of digital glasses or headset a view of the specific piece of equipment and environment can be supplemented with interactive and step-by-step visual display of how this equipment functions, how it is assembled, and how to maintain it. The same technology can also be used to enhance effectiveness of remote instructions given by a person by providing an option of adding visual cues that are accurately placed in space for the person that is receiving the instructions; for example, the person giving the instructions can draw an arrow to point to a specific nut that needs to be removed and the arrow will remain pointing to the same nut for the person receiving the instructions regardless of the movement. This technology seems very promising since it can offer more effective employee training, more accurate execution of SOPs, reduced demand for live trainer/supervisor or demand for physical presence of the same.
Join us in the next issue of our Dairy Extension Newsletter for more exciting innovations from Process Expo 2021.
New technologies are an important component in satisfying the demand for dairy products and dairy ingredients, but these technologies need to be safe, effective, and promising for companies to invest in the implementation of these new solutions. The Milk Quality Improvement Program is continuously searching for new technologies that might be of interest to the dairy industry and evaluating them to be able to give better insight into how realistic, effective, and worthwhile these specific technologies are.
Is your business being approached by companies selling tempting new technologies, but your team isn’t sure if the investment is worth it? Our Milk Quality Improvement Program is assisting dairy processors with this question. We are seeking input on which emerging processing technologies are of interest to dairy processors to help evaluate the efficacy and value of these advancements. You can share your thoughts with us by emailing Aljosa Trmcic at at543@cornell.edu or Rob Ralyea at rdr10@cornell.edu.
