Extending the shelf life of pasteurized milk through microfiltration and implementation of a comprehensive safety and quality management system: case study at the farm and dairy plant.
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Date
2026-04-21
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Abstract
This study aimed to implement good hygienic practices and good manufacturing practices programmes, together with the hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP) system, to produce extended shelf-life (ESL) pasteurized milk using crossflow microfiltration. The microbiological quality of raw milk was markedly improved upon implementation of hygienic prerequisites and HACCP, resulting in a reduction of total colony count (TCC), , psychrotrophs, yeasts and moulds, spore-forming bacteria, , coliforms and . All the milk samples tested negative for antibiotics and aflatoxin . Pasteurized and homogenized milk was microfiltered through a 0.8 or 0.45 μm pore-size membrane to produce ESL whole milk and ESL partly skimmed (2%) milk, respectively, resulting in further improvement of refrigerated shelf life to about 2 weeks and 3 weeks, respectively. ESL 2% milk showed a significantly lower TCC compared to ESL whole milk, and the latter also had a lower TCC than pasteurized whole milk. Both ESL milk products showed negligible denaturation of α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of combining microfiltration with on-farm and in-plant safety management systems for ensuring the safety and quality of ESL pasteurized milk.