Introduction
Milk preservation is a key concern to large-scale dairy farmers across the globe. The product is required to remain fresh from the source to the consumer. This has led to the development of milk devices that aid farmers and dairy factories to process and preserve the product.
Factors such as presence of pathogens in the milk products, lowers the duration the commodities take while still fresh and fit for consumption (Garcia et al., 2019). The condition for the equipment has to be maintained cleaned to ensure the products do not get spoiled or become unfit for human consumption. Furthermore, some of the equipment help milk processors to make various types of milk products like cheese, cream, butter, and so on.
With the use of the devices in the production, individuals have been able to lower the costs involved, like labor, and reduce the time consumption during packaging. The focus of his paper is to analyze milky devices and the current technological involvement.
Background
Dairy plants have evolved to use equipment that facilitates processes like milk manufacturing, pasteurizing, packaging, storing, and transportation. Initially, these activities were expensive, time-consuming when the level of technology was limited (Charlton & Kostandini, 2021). Currently, the advancement in engineering has made the processes convenient due introduction of various machines that perform the factions effectively.
Most dairy farms have access to equipment like tanks for storing milk, cream churner milk containers, tubular heat exchangers, and evaporation systems that aid in the processes. The machines are useful in ensuring farmers do not incur unnecessary losses resulting from poor preservation. They have improved dairy farming since the plants can manage to process the amount of milk produced.
Technology for Dairy products back in the 1900s
There has been an improvement in dairy products over the past century. The milk processing industry has been growing gradually to provide dairy foods that meet the expectations of human diets with respect to nutrients, safety, and overall sustainability. Around 1917, the private dairy farmers presented milk products to their consumers in their locations (Rankin et al., 2017). During this time, farmers had started adopting pasteurization as the mechanism of preserving and controlling milk from contamination by some diseases.
In the milk processing plant, the mechanization of cream separation, filling, washing bottles, and capping them set the root of modern industrialization in the sector. Between the years 1907 and 1913, bottle machines were put into use as well as the fillers and cappers (Capstaff & Miller, 2018). To enhance the safety and increase sanitation of the milk products, there were some advancement made on the mechanical bottle washers. Most countries developed compulsory pasteurization processes due to diseases that were connected to unsafe milk consumption that caused deaths amongst adults and children.
The process of milk pasteurization was officially in use but the methods, timing, and temperatures totally varied from farm to farm. There were no heat regulators during this period therefore the process took about 60 seconds at a temperature of about 72℃ followed by immediate cooling. Similarly, proper timing was not manageable due to a lack of technology (Charlton & Kostandini, 2021). It was termed flash pasteurization and it was not fully accepted due to its limitation.
Another current technology involved in dairy industry is using the in-bottled method. In this process, the bottled milk was subjected to a high temperature of about 63℃ for close to 30 minutes. It proved effective because it reduced the shortfalls of post-pasteurization.
The advancement in technology prompted the improvement in dairy products as effective equipment was developed. Devices like a vat holder, heater, and cooler were used to improve the milk pasteurization process. Another milestone in the dairy plant was achieved in 1934 when a mechanical refrigerator was introduced to help in preserving the products. On the basis of sanitation, the use of stainless steel bulk ensured the commodities were kept safe.
Current Technology
Scientists and technologists have been working to improve the milk processing procedure and the content of the products. Over the last decade, a number of innovations and advancement in technology has been made to enhance productivity in the industry. Some of the current know-how used is aimed at lowering cost, increasing shelf life, and separating the component products of milk (Akbar et al., 2020). Some of the current technologies used in the milk processing plant are discussed below.
Milk Analyser
Fluid milk consists of various components like lactose, fat, protein, total solids, and other elements. The milk processing plants use the Mid-infrared examination method to determine the composition of the product (Akbar et al., 2020). Once the analysis has been done, the result is used to evaluate the amount of money the dairy farmer will receive in relation to the available contents. Mid Infrared Spectroscopy also helps farmers to decide on what feeds to give their animals to influence the needed components. The technology is fast and facilitates efficiency in the testing of milk components.
Automated Sprayer Dryer
Dairy farmers are able to undertake the necessary quality tests using the automated sprayer dyer at once. During the analysis process, a sample of the milk products is taken and analyzed by infrared technology to determine the content of moisture in the milk powder, bulk, and temperature (Shinde et al., 2018). There is a specific inline powder developed for the automated sprayer dryer. The procedure is helpful since it allows the producers to set warning alarms in case of product loss during the manufacturing process.
Automated Clean-In-Place (CIP) System
This system allows the milk plants to clean the interior surfaces of the pipes, filters, vessels, associated fittings, and process equipment while they are intact. CIP uses sensors, controllers, valves that are well-programmed to enhance effectiveness. It makes the plant maintain the required level of hygiene for the proper preservation of the milk products (Ledo et al., 2020). Internal cleaning is essential as the materials get into contact with the milk.
Direct Vat Set (DVS) Cultures
Currently, milk processing industries are using some species of microorganisms to facilitate the production of fermented products. DVS are significant since they have no side effects to the consumers and they also improve the immune system (Rankin et al., 2017). The main reason for applying the DVS cultures in the milk processing steps is to increase the production at a relatively lower time. For instance, it takes about 10 hours to make a curd using a homemade approach whereas when the microorganisms are used, the production time is halved.
High-Performance Liquid Chromatography
High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a reliable, precise accurate process that helps in detecting the presence of melamine in pasteurized milk, ultra-heat temperatures, soft cheese, milk powder, and powdered infant formula (Ledo et al., 2020). Generally, melamine is an organic chemical compound that looks like a white crystal. HPLC enables farmers to easily locate the melamine hence reducing the time that would have been taken in the process.
Fortification of Milk
In most cases, the component of milk does not contain all the required nutrients. To ensure consumers obtain the necessary minerals, some vitamins that are not contained in the milk products are added (Ledo et al. 2020). Fortified milk is essential for human consumption because it has a good ratio of useful ailments. The process is essential in increasing the mineral and vitamin content suitable for human consumption.
Ultra-High Temperature (UHT)
UHT is used to aid in the process of the pasteurization of milk in the industry. It involves using commercially sterilized equipment to heat milk then fill them under an aseptic state into packages that are hermetically sealed (Warncke & Kulozik, 2020). During this process, milk is heated for about two seconds at a temperature of 138℃ then cooled down quickly. UHT is capable of eliminating bacteria present in the product, therefore, increasing the shelf life of milk. After UHT, the commodity can take a long like six months without refrigeration.
High-Temperature Short Time (HTST)
The dairy plant uses hot water and metal plates to attain the required temperature suitable for pasteurization. HTST technique also allows dairy farmers to heat under a temperature of about 71℃ within a time frame of 15 seconds (Garcia et al., 2019). It is then cooled off before packaging to enhance the shelf life. It also enables the dairy farmers to eliminate the threat of bacteria present in milk products.
Dairy Product Composition and Attribute Testing
Currently, near-infrared and inline mid-infrared technology is being used in the firms to enable the manufacturers to establish and analyze the composition of the products. The system makes it easier to test the components of the liquid milk (Akbar et al., 2020). The factories usually produce a large quantity of milk therefore the advancement makes it easier to examine the milk for cheese making and other products.
Types of Equipment for Dairy and Milk
Dairy Pasteurizers
This equipment is used to heat the dairy products to a considerable temperature that is suitable for killing the pathogens that might be present in the milk. They are used to enhance and increase the safety of milk for human consumption.
Dairy Milk Tanks
In the dairy plant, there are tanks used for storing milk, cooling, and for fermentation. There are isolated tanks, one-lay, two-lay, and process tanks that are used in the processing process.
Homogenizer
This machine helps in making the milk products have a uniform consistency to minimize separation. It also helps in reducing large fat globules into tiny ones (Warncke & Kulozik, 2020). The equipment facilitates the conversion of two insoluble liquids to form an emulsion. It enhances flexibility and quality performance in the industry during the processing. Furthermore, it reduces the intensity of work done in processing milk.
Dairy Separator
This equipment is used by dairy farmers or milk processing plants to separate skimmed milk and cream. They increase the effectiveness in the processing of milk and enables farmers to reduce cost. Dairy separators are easy to use therefore very efficient for most milk plants. The machine makes it easier for the dairy farmers to lower labor and have different composition of the milk products.
Manufacturing of Milk (How it is Manufactured, Pasteurized)
The process of manufacturing milk involves a series of steps. It starts with milking cows by attaching vacuum cups to their teats. After that, the liquid milk is taken to refrigerated vats for storage under a temperature condition of about 5℃. Milk is then transported to factory tankers where different procedures take place, such as pasteurization where milk is put at an extreme temperature of 72℃ for about 15 seconds to destroying harmful pathogens.
The process allows the products to have an extended shelf life. The next step is homogenization, this method subject milk to high pressure that helps to disperse fat globules (Soundous et al., 2019). It enables manufacturers to stop the cream from rising to the top and separating to ensure a consistent taste and texture of the product.
The milk is then taken to centrifugal separation to enable the removal of the available cream to facilitate the making of low-fat or skim milk. The other procedure is ultrafiltration which involves passing milk across a given membrane at a considerable pressure to aid in holding back the fat globules and other proteins present in the milk content (Mikhaylin et al., 2018). During this process, lactose and water pass through the membrane leaving behind the large particles including calcium complexes.
The next process involves reverse osmosis which is more like ultrafiltration only that the membrane permits water to pass across leaving lactose. Then there is ultra-osmosis that entails both reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration (Mikhaylin et al., 2018). This procedure allows salt and water to go through holding back solid milk. Another procedure is spray drying which helps to eliminate water from milk to produce powdered milk products. The process does not interfere with the nutrition content of the milk. The last step is permeating, which enables the manufacturers to produce milk having consistent properties.
Future Research
Based on the predicted demand for milk products in the future, agriculturalists should further the research on how to increase the amount of milk each cow can produce. The finding should focus on ways of raising the limit without having a devastating effect on the life of an animal (Capstaff & Miller, 2018). If such improvement can be achieved, sustainability shall also go up since it will not be necessary for the farmer to keep a large number of dairy animals.
The world population is projected to increase; therefore, the need to produce more milk products will increase as well. Researchers and agriculturalists should do some studies on how the different combinations of feeds would improve the quality of milk products to minimize industrial processes that complicate the process (Capstaff & Miller, 2018). With the expected pressure in consumption, they should search for ways of modernization to reduce the labor cost associated.
Furthermore, with the intense need for organic food products in market, research should be done on the milk industry to find possible ways by which organic milk products suitable for human consumption can be produced. Similarly, the shelf life of the commodities should be enhanced to ensure they can stay for more than a year without spoilage (Charlton & Kostandini, 2021). Moreover, temperature fluctuation is a common threat on the shelf-stable, the scientist should invest and research on technology that involves using mobile apps to control temperature.
Conclusion
In summary, the dairy industry has experienced a great magnitude of improvement in relation to past practices. The need to maintain safety and shelf-life stability has made scientists formulate good and effective machines and technologies viable in the sector. There has been a constant rise in the need for milk and other dairy products, which has made farmers to actively involved using the modern equipment to sustain the supply. Technology has made it easier for dairy farmers to handle a large volume of milk at a time. Through the pasteurization process, it has been efficient to keep pasteurized milk for a long period of time, therefore, minimizing possible losses.
Furthermore, the determination of milk composition has enabled supplies to earn more income depending on the content. Similarly, the safety of consumers has also been improved since most of the pathogens are removed through UHT. According to the development in technology, including the internet of things, researchers can determine better ways to minimize the production cost, quality and quantity to be produced in the future.
References
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