Cocoa powder is one of the main ingredients used in the manufacture of chocolate Ultra Heat Treated (UHT) milk. Chocolate milk is also one of the most common flavors to have spoilage.
Unfortunately, microbial spoilage does occur. There are many reasons; however two of the main points are poor hygiene and lack of maintenance to the plant. Both are due to poor management.
Although cocoa powder is the main ingredient, it gets most of the attention. Incidentally, cocoa powder is rarely the cause, yet it is the easiest to blame and this is poor judgment by the management. If there is any premature spoilage of UHT milk, then it lies squarely at management. The best UHT milk manufacturers in the world remain their because of choosing the right management team. Excellent management results in retaining people with strong experience and technical knowledge in the field of UHT manufacture. Experienced Engineers, production managers and especially their technical support member such as the microbiologist. If the company is not committed to maintaining the right people and the right attitude, then they should exit the UHT business. Otherwise expect lots of rejected production runs.
Did you know that the microbiologist is probably one of the most valued employees in Nestle, the world No.1 food manufacturer. Why, because the majority of spoilage is caused by micro-organism. That is why I believe all senior management must have background in microbiology so that critical decision can be made.
Japan’s largest dairy company, Snow Brand had the largest food poisoning case in the world with Staphylococcus aureus enter toxin growing and contaminating their product. Their president resigned and the company even considered changing the brand name as it was the biggest disasters in their company’s history.
So to all the President and CEO of food manufacturing companies out there, please ensure your microbiologists are well looked after.
UHT stands for Ultra High Temperature pasteurization and packing. During manufacture, the process produces milk that will be fresh and natural for several months without refrigeration. UHT milk has extended shelf life (shelf stable) and is sometimes called long life or extended life milk also. No preservatives are added.
Once the pack has been opened it must be refrigerated. UHT milk is a perfect choice for breakfast, school lunch, hiking, biking, camping, travel, food storage, emergency preparedness, and disaster response.
The milk has a longer shelf-life because of the aseptic packaging. This packaging ensures the milk is free of bacteria and hermetically seals it (air tight) thus eliminating the bacteria, air and light which will cause milk to sour. Whether in cartons or bags the foil lined aseptic packaging assures your milk is free of contaminates that rob shelf life.
Behind the manufacture of UHT milk include a strong team of technical personnel such as engineers, microbiologist and food technologist to ensure the UHT process works perfectly to bring you this great product.
Bacillus stearothermophilus is a gram positive, heat resistant spore-forming rod. This bacterium can survive high temperatures between 130 – 145°C and grows well in high temperatures such as 55oC. Which is whay it is found in warm compost piles.
This is a cross section (a view of a slice of the middle) of a spore of Bacillus stearothermophilus. Spores of bacteria allow the bacteria to survive harsh conditions until the time when the bacterium can thrive and reproduce.
The heat resistance property comes from the spore which allows the bacterium to survive the harsh condition. It remains in a non-germinating dormant state until a favourable temperature (43 to 75°C) is reached. The spore is then activated by a process called heat shock thereby enabling the spore to germinate into a vegetative cell and hence reproduce.
Bacillus stearothermophilus has been known to cause spoilage in many Ultra High Temperature (UHT) processed foods such as milk and dairy products.
