MILK QUALITY CONTROL

BY Lucy Mlipano Chove

QUALITY CONTROL OF MILK
• Why Quality Control?

• Importance:
–To the producer:
–To the processor:
–To the consumer:
–To Public & Gvt agencies
TECHNIQUES USED IN MILK TESTING & QUALITY
CONTROL
MILK SAMPLING:
• Thorough mixing!
• Choose representative samples
• Use plungers and dippers
LABELING & RECORDS:
• Names/codes and dates
• Data sheet be kept for reference
 MILK TESTS
• 1. ORGANOLEPTIC
– Involves the use of our senses
– The milk grader must have good sense of sight,
smell and taste
– Observe the appearance of the milk, check for
any dirt.
– Open the can and immediately smell
– Check the lid &can and for sediments
MILK TESTS
2.Clot on Boiling (C.O.B) Test
• It tests for too acid milk (pH<5.8) or
abnormal milk(colostral /mastitis milk)
• If a milk sample fails in the test
– many acid or rennet producing microbes
– the milk has an abnormal high proteins %
eg. colostral milk
 MILK TESTS
3. The Alcohol Test
• It is based on instability of the proteins
– when acid and/or rennet are increased an
– acted upon by the alcohol.
• Also increased levels of:
– albumen (colostrum milk) and
– salt concentrates (mastitis) results in a
positive test.
MILK TESTS
4. Acidity test
• Bacteria develop in raw milk produce
lactic acid.
• The acid is neutralised with Sodium
hydroxide and the amount is measured
• From this, Lactic acid (%) can be
calculated.
• Fresh milk contains in this test also
"natural acidity" (0.16 - 0.18%).
• Higher values: shows action of bacteria
on milk sugar.
 MILK TESTS
5. The Lactometer test
• Addition of water to milk can be a big
problem where we have unfaithful farm
workers, milk transporters and greedy milk
hawkers.
• Milk has a specific gravity. When it is
adulterated with water or other materials or
both, the density of milk changes
• The lactometer test is designed to detect the
change in density of adulterated milk.
 Lactometer Test
• If the temperature of the milk is different
from the calibration temperature (20ºC )
calculate the temperature correction.
• For each ºC
–above the calibration temperature
add 0.2ºL;
–below calibration temperature
subtract 0.2 ºL.
 Lactometer reading
• EXAMPLE: Calibration temperature of
lactometer 20ºC.
• Sample Milk temperature Lactometer

• No.1 17 ºC 30.6 ºL
• No.2 20 ºC 30.0 ºL
• No.3 23 ºC 29.4 ºL
MILK TESTS
6. The Gerber Butterfat test
• The fat content determines the price
• Tests are also done on milk & milk
products in order to make accurate
adjustments of the fat (%) in
standardised milk and products
• Measured by butryometer
MILK TESTS
7. Freezing Point Determination (FPD)
• Can detect adulteration with water!
• The FPD is regarded to be the most
constant of all measurable properties
of milk.
• A small adulteration of milk with water
will cause a detectable elevation of
the freezing point of milk
• Measured by a Crysoscope
 DYE REDUCTION TESTS
• What is the basis of a dye reduction
test?
• Dye-reduction assays use dyes to
estimate the number of viable cells that
are present in certain food products.
• Commonly used dyes are
– methylene blue and
– resazurin.
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST
• Milk is a good medium for the growth of
microorganism.
• A variety of microorganism can be found in
both raw milk and pasteurized milk.
• These actively growing microorganisms
reduce the oxidation reduction potential of
the milk medium
– due to the exhausted oxygen by the
microorganism.
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST
• Normally the milk is contaminated with
microorganisms such as
– Staphylococcus aureus,
– Streptococcus pyogenes,
– Pseudomonas aeroginosa,
– Enterobacter spp.,
– Bacillus spp.,
– Paenibacillus spp.
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST
• The formation of Methylene blue reductase is
used to determine the quality of the milk.
• The principle of methylene blue reduction test
depends on the fact that the color imparted
to the milk by adding a dye eg methylene blue
–will disappear more or less quickly,
which depends on the quality of the
milk sample to be examined.
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST
• Methylene blue is a redox
indicator,
–that loses its color
–under the absence of O2
–is thought to be reduced.
 PROCEDURE
• Transfer 10 ml of each milk sample into a
labeled test tube.
• Add 1 ml of redox indicator, methylene
blue to each test tube containing milk
sample.
• Tighten the test tube mouth with
stoppers.
 PROCEDURE
• Gently invert the tubes at about four or five times
to ensure proper mixing of the methylene blue
solution.
• Keep the tubes in the water bath at 37o C
• Note the incubation time.
– That is, the time elapsed for the color to turn whitish
appearance.
• Stabilize the tubes for 5 minutes.
 RESULT INTERPRETATION TIME TAKEN FOR
REDUCTION GRADE
• 1 Reduction within 30 minutes Poor quality
• 2 Reduction occurring between 1 to 2 hours
Fair 3 Reduction occurring between 3 to 4
hours Good quality
• 4 More than 4 hours Excellent quality
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST- Facts
• Refrigerated milk contains more oxygen
than warm milk.
• At the time of milking process, it has
more oxygen content than the other
cases.
• Rate of reduction depends on the
nature of the organism present in the
milk.
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST- Facts
• E. coli > Streptococcus lactis > faecal
Streptococci > Micrococci> thermoduric
organisms > psychrotrophic organisms
• The presence of light fastens the
reduction rate;
 METHYLENE BLUE TEST
• The depletion of oxygen in the milk is due to
the production of reducing substances in the
milk due to the enhanced rate of bacterial
metabolism.
• The dye reduction time refers to the:
– microbial load in the milk and
– the total metabolic reactions of the microorganism.
• Important points
– Disappearance of color with limited time
indicates the absence of oxygen in milk.
RESAZURIN TEST
• Most widely used test for hygiene
• It is a dye indicator.
• Under specified conditions Resazurin is
dissolved in distilled boiled water.
• It is used to test the microbial activity
• Resazurin can be carried out as:
– 10 min/1/3 hr.
• The 10 min Resazurin test is useful and
rapid, screening platform test
 PROCEDURE
• Prepare resazurin solution by dissolving one
resazurin tablet (dye content/ tablet,
approximately 11 mg, certified by Biological
Stain Commission) in 200 ml of hot distilled
water
• Place 1 ml of dye solution in a sterile test
tube, then add 10 ml of sample.
• Stopper the tube, place in the incubator and,
when the temperature reaches 36C, invert
the tube
 PROCEDURE
• Invert to mix the milk and dye.
• Incubate at 37o C.
• Tubes are examined and classified
–at the end of an hour in the "one-
hour test" or
–at the end of three successive hourly
intervals in the "triple reading test."
 RESULTS (10 MINUTE RESAZURIN TEST)

Disc Colour Grade of milk DECISON

6 Blue Excellent Accept
5 Light blue v. good Accept
4 Purple Good Accept
3 Purple pink Fair Separate
2 Light pink Poor Separate
1 Pink Bad Reject
0 white Very bad Reject
 INHIBITOR TEST
• Milk may contain:
– drugs and/or
– pesticides residues
• These may
– inhibit the growth of starter
cultures and
–it is also a health hazard.
 INHIBITOR TEST
• The suspected milk sample is
subjected to a
–fermentation test with starter culture
and
– the acidity checked after three (3)
hours.
–The values of the titratable acidity
obtained are compared with titratable
acidity of
– a similarly treated sample which is
free from any inhibitory substances.
 MILK ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE
• When milk is pasteurised at
– 63ºC for 30 min in or
– 72ºC for 15 seconds in heat exchanger
– All pathogenic bacteria are destroyed,
there by rendering milk safe for human
consumption.
– Simultaneously various enzymes present in
milk, and which might affect its flavour, are
destroyed.
 MILK ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE
• In order to determine whether or not
milk has been adequately pasteurised
– one of the enzymes normally present in
milk phosphatase, is measured.
– This is the MAP
 MILK ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE
• A -ve phosphatase result indicates that the
enzyme and any pathogenic bacteria have
been destroyed during pasteursation.
• If it is +ve, it means the pasteurisation
process was inadequate and
– the milk may not be safe for human
consumption and
– will have a short shelf life.
 PROCEDURE
• Pipette 5mls buffer-substrate solution into a
test tube, stopper and warm the solution in
the water bath at 37ºC.
• Add to the test tube 1ml of the milk to be
tested, stopper and mix well and place in
water bath at 37ºC.
• Prepare a blank sample from boiled milk of
the same type ( milk boiled for 3 minutes at
100ºC as that undergoing the test.
 PROCEDURE
• Incubate both the test samples and the
blank sample at 37ºC for 2hrs.
• After incubation, remove the tubes and
mix them thoroughly.
• Place one sample against the blank in a
Lovibond comparator
– and rotate the disc
– until the colour of the test sample is matched
– read the disc number.
MILK ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE TEST
 INTERPRETATION OF THE RESULTS
• Disc Reading after 2 hrs incubation at 37ºC
• Remarks
• 0-10 Properly pasteurized
• 10-18 Slightly under pasteurized
• 18-42 UNDER PASTEURISED
• > 42 NOT PASTEURISED
MILK TESTS
ALKALINE PHOSPHATASE TEST
• When milk is pasteurised
– ALL pathogens &
– Some enzymes destroyed!
• Heat sensitivity of MAP (milk alkaline
phosphatase) is the same as for
pasteurisation
• It is used as an indicator
• A - phosphatase: Adequate PASTEUR
• A + phosphatase: pasteurisation PASTEUR