Rapid, low-temperature process adds weeks to milk’s shelf life
The treatment lowered bacterial levels below detection limits, and extended shelf life to up to 63 days.
A rapid heating and cooling of milk significantly reduces the amount of harmful bacteria, extending the shelf life by several weeks, according to a study produced by Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind.
Bruce Applegate, associate professor in the Department of Food Science for Purdue University, and collaborators from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn., published findings that show increasing the temperature of milk by 10 degrees for less than a second eliminates more than 99% of the bacteria left behind after pasteurization.