HTST Strategy for 60-90 Day Fluid Milk

This study extended the shelf life of skim milk using various processing techniques and evaluated the survival of bacteria that are resistant to high temperature short time (HTST) processing after each treatment. The first technique combined carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, pressure (up to 5000 psi), and shear. The second technique used microfiltration to remove somatic cells, vegetative bacterial cells, and spores from skim milk before recombining it with cream and HTST. The study found that microfiltration, followed by minimum HTST treatment achieved <20,000 cfu/ml total bacteria count out to 60 to 90 days on skim milk stored between 2 and 4?C.