Is milk one of your favorite drinks? Then this article is surely going to catch your attention. As a leading and advanced milk processing plant in India, we wish to share the process of preserving the purity and quality of the milk before its packaging. Mark it that the process starts from the time raw milk enters a milk processing plant. Let us take you through the various types of quality tests in milk processing plants in India!
Being a biological product, milk is extremely susceptible to microbial attack. Without any obvious changes to its appearance, it is also a good vehicle for additives and adulterants. Milk is thus susceptible to a variety of post-secretion changes, some of which are natural and others that are artificial. To process milk, suppliers, and producers adhere to specific standards and chemical quality control benchmarks.
The quality of the raw milk used in the production, processing, and handling of dairy products determines their quality. It is sometimes difficult for rural farmers to produce high-quality raw milk. Sometimes, it is because of their poor socioeconomic circumstances. Furthermore, the quality of the milk is further compromised during handling and transportation.
Through a variety of quick tests referred to as “platform tests,” the quality of the incoming raw milk is evaluated to determine whether it is suitable for processing. Each producer’s milk is sampled, and specific tests are run on them to determine whether the milk is acceptable.
Visual and Sensory Methods
When milk is received at the dairy plant, it is thoroughly inspected for the presence of any undesirable floating debris. By assessing the taste and flavor of 20–30 ml of milk in the mouth and rolling it in the palate and mouth cavity for assessment, which should be typical of milk, it is also tested for any objectionable flavor.
Sediment Test
Using a sediment tester, this test determines how clean the milk was when it arrived at the dairy plant. The tester is dipped to the can’s bottom and a sediment disc is placed in the space provided. Pulling the plunger up slowly collects milk from various areas of the can’s bottom. The plunger is then pushed down to empty the sediment tester after the sediment tester has been removed. The sediment disc is taken out and put next to a standard sediment disc for comparison. It can also be measured in weight and contrasted with an unused sediment disc.
Clot-on-Boiling (COB) Test
The COB test shows whether milk is suitable for pasteurization and other heat-treatment procedures. A test tube containing five ml of milk is placed over a flame and allowed to boil. When flakes or clots form, the milk has a high level of developed acidity and cannot be subjected to pasteurization or high heat treatments.
Alcohol Test
Milk must be extremely heat stable if it is to be used for high-heat processing, such as condensing and UHT processing. A 5 ml sample of milk is mixed thoroughly with an equal amount of ethyl alcohol, and the formation of flakes or clots is then checked. The appearance of small flakes in milk is a sign that it is abnormal. It can be either because of high acidity or an improper salt balance. Such milk is not appropriate for high-heat processing.
Alcohol-Alizarin Test
This test gives an idea of the acidity of milk and shows how well it can withstand high heat. An equal amount of alcohol-alizarin solution (0.2%) is added to 5 ml of milk in a test tube. The mixture is examined for the development of flakes and color, and the results are compared.
These are the types of tests that every “ml” of raw milk that reaches a milk processing plant has to undergo. This is the first stage of the milk processing cycle that ensures that the best and purest form of milk reaches your glass. Apart from these quality tests in milk processing plants in India, there are other processes that are followed to pack 100% consumption-safe milk.
Keep on visiting our page to know about the Indian Dairy Industry. We take pride in ourselves in educating you about the manufacturing practices and developments in the industry ongoing across the nation.
