Evaluation of pulsed electric field and minimal heat treatments for inactivation of pseudomonads and enhancement of milk shelf-life

Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) treatment of milk provides the opportunity to increase the shelf-life of fresh milk for distribution to distant markets. PEF treatments were evaluated in sterile (UHT) milk to determine the inactivation of added spoilage Pseudomonas isolates and the subsequent gains in microbial shelf-life (time taken to reach 107 CFU mL− 1). Little inactivation of Pseudomonas was achieved at 15 or 40 °C compared with 50 or 55 °C. The greatest inactivation (> 5 logs) was achieved by processing at 55 °C with 31 kV cm− 1 (139.4 kJ L− 1). Heat treatment at the application temperature without PEF treatment caused minimal inactivation of Pseudomonas (only 0.2 logs), demonstrating that the inactivation of the Pseudomonas was due to the PEF treatment rather than the heat applied to the milk. At added Pseudomonas levels of 103 and 105 CFU mL− 1, the microbial shelf-life of PEF-treated milk was extended by at least 8 days at 4 °C compared with untreated milk. The total microbial shelf-life of the PEF-treated milk was 13 and 11 days for inoculation levels of 103 and 105 CFU mL− 1 respectively. The results indicate that PEF treatment is useful for the reduction of pseudomonads, the major spoilage bacteria of milk.Industrial relevancePseudomonads are the major psychrotrophic spoilage microflora of refrigerated, stored HTST pasteurised milk. Long-life (UHT) products are an important component of milk sales in South-East Asia, but in recent years there has been an increasing demand for less processed milk products with extended shelf-life. The recent practice of shipping fresh bulk milk from Australia to South-East Asian countries has necessitated additional heat treatment prior to export and on arrival, to achieve the required shelf-life. Pulsed electric field treatment of HTST milk, applied alone or in combination with mild heat under optimised conditions, offers the opportunity of shelf-life extension, while limiting the reduction in quality attributes of milk associated with more severe additional heat treatments.