INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE & BIOLOGY

ISSN Print: 1560–8530; ISSN Online: 1814–9596

10–049/ZII/2010/12–3–439–442
http://www.fspublishers.org

Full Length Article

Effect of Different UHT Processing Temperatures on Ash and

Lactose Content of Milk during Storage at Different
Temperatures
FARZANA SIDDIQUE1, FAQIR MUHAMMAD ANJUM, NUZHAT HUMA AND AMER JAMIL†
National Institute of Food Science and Technology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
†Department of Biochemistry, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
1
Corresponding author’s E-Mail: farzanasiddiqueft@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Commercial milk and improve quality milk containing total plate count 2.2 × 106 and 3.5 × 105 cfu/mL and somatic cell count
621,000 and 249,000 per mL, respectively were subjected to different ultra-high temperature (UHT) processing temperatures
(135, 138, 141 & 144oC) and stored at 25oC and 40oC temperatures for 90 days. Commercial milk contained significantly
lower content of lactose as compared to improved quality milk. More degradation of lactose content was observed in milk
stored at 40oC than at 25oC temperature. The lactose content decline in UHT milk processed at a temperature 135oC was lower
than at 144oC temperature. Commercial milk possessed higher ash content than improved quality milk. UHT processing and
storage temperatures had no influence on ash content of both milk sources. © 2010 Friends Science Publishers

Key Words: Commercial milk; Improved quality milk; Somatic cell count; Total plate count; Storage period

INTRODUCTION round the year in the markets. Various thermal processing

techniques are being applied in the dairy industry but among
Milk is a secretion from the mammary glands derived ultra-high temperature (UHT) treated milk has higher
from the milking of healthy Halal milch animals (PSQCA, acceptability due to hot prolonged summer season in
2008) it should be free from colostrum. Nature has gifted Pakistan. UHT processing is carried out by subjecting milk
milk with the attributes of an ideal food. It is highly at a high temperature for a short period of time in order to
nutritious containing essential nutrients required for the have a long shelf-life at room temperature (Valero et al.,
development of all age groups. The stockpile milk nutrients 2001). The thermal processing treatment of milk brings
include the energy providing lactose and fat, the bone about changes in nutritional, sensoric and technological
forming calcium and other minerals, the body building properties of milk. The intensity of these changes varies
proteins and health promoting vitamins. Pakistan is ranked widely with changing in processing conditions (Fox &
as a fifth largest milk producing country in the world with McSweeney, 1998). Milk sterilized by the use of UHT
milk production of 43.6 billion liters per year (GOP, 2009). treatment tends to be unstable during storage. This stability
Only 4% of the total milk produced is processed and used in is a critical aspect of quality of UHT milk, which limits its
urban areas of the country. Milk may be consumed as fresh, use.
boiled and in powder form. Common milk products are Lactose a disaccharide sugar is major carbohydrate of
yogurt, ghee, butter milk, butter, cheese and ice cream. By milk commonly referred as milk sugar. Basically the milk of
weight, milk and its products makes up nearly one-third of the mammals is the solitary source of lactose (Holsinger,
all the food consumed in Pakistan. However, per capita 1998) and ranged from 4.4-5.2% with average content of
availability of milk in Pakistan is less than the 4.8%. It is a low glycemic index carbohydrate, which makes
recommended levels of 0.5 L per person per day prescribed this sugar beneficial for diabetics (Brew, 2003). Lactose
by World Health Organization (WHO, 2005). With rapid undergoes changes more readily in milk than in the dry
increase in human population and stress to maximize state. A series of reactions take place during heat treatment
production of food especially in developing countries, between amino groups of proteins and aldehyde groups of
demands the use of technologies for more production and lactose known Maillard reaction. This reaction is much
preservation of food. faster at temperatures above 100°C, which results in a
The processors preserve and process the milk by change in color and flavor as well as loss in essential amino
thermal processing to meet the increasing demand of milk acids (lysine & arginine) (Manji & Kakuda, 1988; Alfa-

To cite this paper: Siddique, F., F.M. Anjum, N. Huma and A. Jamil, 2010. Effect of different UHT processing temperatures on ash and lactose content of
milk during storage at different temperatures. Int. J. Agric. Biol., 12: 439–442
 SIDDIQUE et al. / Int. J. Agric. Biol., Vol. 12, No. 3, 2010

Laval, 2003). Ash is a mixture, not of original inorganic RESULTS

salts, but of the carbonates and oxides of elements present in
the food, phosphorus and sulphur from proteins and lipids It is evident from the statistical results that milk
are present in ash, while organic ions such as citrate are lost sources significantly (P<0.001) affected the ash and lactose
during incineration and the high temperature usually content of different UHT processed milk. Lactose content
employed in ashing may vaporize certain volatile elements also varied significantly (P<0.01) due to differences in milk
(Fox & McSweeney, 1998). sources, storage periods, storage temperatures and UHT
treatments. The results further revealed that lactose content
MATERIAL AND METHODS of UHT processed milk was also affected due to the
interactions between milk sources and storage periods,
Raw milk for UHT processing at commercial dairy while ash content of UHT processed milk did not differ
plant was collected from two sources: significantly (P<0.01) due to all these variables except milk
a. Commercial suppliers sources.
b. Improved quality milk (collected from well managed The results regarding effect of milk sources on ash
dairy farms). content of UHT processed milk showed that ash content of
The milk from two different sources collected in UHT processed milk differed significantly (P<0.01)
different storage tanks according to their quality. Analyses between different milk sources (Table I). The highest ash
were performed on the bulk raw milk in each storage tank. content (0.86%) was found in commercial milk, while the
The milk samples were processed by indirect UHT system lowest ash contents (0.82%) was present in IQ milk. The
in a commercial dairy plant. The samples were heated at results further showed that UHT processing temperature did
four different UHT temperatures i.e. 135oC, 138oC, 141oC not show significant (P>0.05) affect on the ash content of
and 144oC for 3-4 sec. Then aseptically packed in Tetra Pak processed milk. The lactose content of UHT processed milk
brick packaging and stored at two different storage also varied significantly (P<0.01) between milk sources.
temperatures (25oC, 40oC). Samples of the UHT milk were The commercial milk contained the lowest content of
analyzed after processing at 15 days intervals for 90 days of lactose (3.79%), while IQ milk contained the highest lactose
storage period. Three pack of each batch was opened and content (4.04%). The lactose of the UHT processed milk
analyzed. differed significantly (P<0.01) from 3.57% to 4.09% during
Total plate and somatic cell counts: The milk samples 0 to 90 days of storage, this showed a decreasing trend in
were tested for total plate count by following the procedure lactose with progressive increase in storage period. The
as the methods determined by Cappuccino and Sherman interaction between storage period and milk sources (Table
(1996). The test for somatic cell count was carried out by II) also indicated a declining trend in both type of milk
following the reference method of IDF (1984) with some sources. The content of lactose in IQ and commercial milk
modifications. was 4.19 and 3.99%, respectively at 0 day storage, which
Lactose content: Lactose determination was done by the decreased to 3.79 and 3.35% in IQ and commercial milk,
enzymatic method described in AOAC (2000). Sample respectively when milk tested at the expiry of storage period
solution (0.2 mL) was taken in cuvett and incubated for 10 i.e., 90 days. The total drop of lactose in commercial milk
min at 25ºC then 2.2 mL of distilled water was added at was 0.64%, while in IQ milk it was 0.40% during 90 days of
25ºC, 0.2 mL of ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA) storage.
buffer and 0.1 mL of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide The influence of storage temperature on the lactose
(NAD) was added. Absorbance of the solution after 3 min content exhibited a significant effect (P<0.01) of storage
was read and recorded as A1. After addition of 0.02 mL of temperature on the lactose content of UHT processed milk.
β-galactosidase dehydrogenase read the absorbance as A2. The highest percentage of (3.93%) lactose was observed in
The lactose concentration was calculated by applying the UHT processed milk when stored at a temperature of 25oC,
formula. while lower lactose content was found (3.90 %) when stored
Ash: The milk was tested for ash content by following the at 40oC temperature (Table III). As regards the effect of
method no 945.46 as given in AOAC (1990). Ash (%) was UHT temperature on the lactose content of UHT processed
calculated as given below: milk, a significant (P<0.01) influence of UHT temperature
Wt. of ash on the lactose content was observed. The lactose content
Ash (%) = × 100 decline in UHT milk, processed at a temperature 135o was
Wt. of sample
0.51% (4.14 to 3.63%), at 138oC was 0.51% (4.10 to 3.59)
Statistical analysis: The data thus obtained were analyzed and at 141oC was 0.51% (4.08 to 3.57%) relatively higher
by applying analysis of variance under completely decrease of 0.53% (4.03 to 3.50%) was observed when milk
randomized design (CRD). To determine the effect of heat processed at 144 temperatures. The difference in lactose
treatments, storage temperatures, storage periods on lactose content at different temperatures was significant (P<0.01),
and ash content of UHT processed milk, four factor factorial but non-significant (P>0.05) differences observed in drop of
analysis of variance was applied (Steel et al., 1997). lactose when milk processed at 135, 138 and 141

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Table I: Effect of milk sources on ash content of UHT DISCUSSION

processed milk
In the present investigation the difference in the ash
UHT temperature (oC) Ash (%) and lactose content between the milk sources may due to the
Commercial milk IQ milk poor quality of commercial milk. The adulteration of milk
135 0.86 0.81
138 0.85 0.82
could result a higher level of ash content, because the entire
141 0.86 0.82 adulterations test are of qualitative nature. Adulteration to a
144 0.87 0.83 minimum level some times gives negative results for the
Mean 0.86A 0.82B adulterants. The commercial raw milk has the lower content
Means carrying same letters are not significantly different from each other of solids non-fat (SNF) and lactose, which are reflected in
the respective processed product. The elevated microbial
Table II: Effect of milk sources and storage periods on and somatic cell count recorded in the commercial milk may
lactose content of UHT processed milk also be another reason for reduction in lactose contents as
several researchers have associated the reduction in lactose
Storage period (Days) Lactose (%) Mean
content with high somatic cell count (Kitchen, 1981;
Commercial milk IQ milk
0 3.99de 4.19a 4.09A Harmon, 1994; Sharif et al., 2007). They further reported
15 3.97e 4.16a 4.07B that mastitis results in tissue damage and decrease the
30 3.94f 4.13b 4.03C synthetic ability of the enzyme system of the secretory cells
45 3.89g 4.08c 3.98D and biosynthesis of lactose decreases in the mammary
60 3.78h 4.01d 3.90E tissue. Reduction of lactose contents in commercial milk
75 3.60i 3.93f 3.76F
90 3.35j 3.79h 3.57G might be due to passage of lactose from milk into blood and
Mean 3.79B 4.04A increased permeability of tissues between milk duct of
Means carrying same small letters are not significantly different from each udder and the blood, which leads to increased steady flow of
other blood components into the udder and results in alteration of
Means carrying same capital letters in a column and rows are not
significantly different from each other
milk composition similarly salt concentration of milk
increases with the infection of mastitis, which ultimately
Table III: Effect of storage temperature on lactose results in the high ash content (Shuster et al., 1991;
content of UHT processed milk Schallibaum, 2001). When the animal suffer from mastitis, a
larger amount of low molar mass blood components leak
Storage period (Days) Lactose (%)
from the blood into the milk, which contains a greater
25oC 40oC amount of dissolved salts (Walstra et al., 1999). Sonea et al.
0 4.09 4.08 (2009) concluded that lactose content decreased and
15 4.07 4.06 minerals increased in mastitis milk, which also confirms to
30 4.04 4.03
45 4.00 3.97
present results. This is due to the reason of alteration in
60 3.92 3.88 lactose secretions, which determines a lowering osmotic
75 3.78 3.74 pressure within mammary gland alveoli. To compensate
90 3.59 3.55 lower osmotic pressure, higher amount of minerals go in
Mean 3.93A 3.90B
cellular walls. The high ash content may be attributed to
Means carrying same letters are not significantly different from each other
higher incidence of mastitis in commercial milk as
compared to IQ milk.
Table IV: Effect of UHT temperature on lactose
A decreasing trend in lactose as a function of storage
content of UHT processed milk
period might be due to many biochemical reactions
generally grouped under the name Maillard reaction are
Storage period (Days) Lactose (%)
135oC 138oC 141oC 144oC taking place during storage of milk samples. This reaction
0 4.14 4.10 4.08 4.03 begins with the attachment of the aldehyde group of lactose
15 4.12 4.08 4.06 4.01 with the ε-amino group of lysyl residues from the different
30 4.09 4.05 4.03 3.97 milk proteins (Singh & Creamer, 1992). Different
45 4.04 3.99 3.98 3.92
60 3.95 3.91 3.90 3.84
modifications in lactose due to series of reactions result in
75 3.82 3.78 3.76 3.69 brown pigmented products such as pyrazines and
90 3.63 3.59 3.57 3.50 melanoidins, some polymerized molecules (lactuloselysine
Mean 3.97A 3.93B 3.91C 3.85D & fructoselysine) and small acid molecules are also formed
Means carrying same letters are not significantly different from each other during the Maillard reaction (Fox & McSweeney, 1998;
temperatures. Therefore it may be concluded that the Van Boekel, 1998). Rehman et al. (2002) also reported a
differences lie in the initial lactose content after UHT decrease in lactose content and increase in hydroxylmethyl
processing, while the storage reflected the same effect for furfural contents during storage of UHT milk as is observed
the first three temperatures of UHT processing (Table IV). in the present study. In the present case more pronounced

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