Differences in particle characteristics and oxidized flavor as affected by heat-related processes of milk powder

Understanding the formation of oxidized flavor will be highly useful in the improvement of milk powder quality. Effects of preheating, concentration and spray-drying on the particle characteristics and the oxidized flavor stability of milk powder were investigated. The surface composition and free radicals were analyzed using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron spin resonance spectrometry, respectively. The concentrations of selected oxidized volatiles hexanal and 2-heptanone were determined using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Levels of hexanal and 2-heptanone in fresh milk powder were higher than those in raw milk and heated milk, which drastically increased with increasing time of storage. Differences in the morphological observations, free fat, and surface composition of fresh milk powder were found among different heat-related processes. During storage, a radical (g value, a characteristic constant whose value serves to identify any given free radical, was 2.0054) was detected in milk powder. The specific population of the radical increased from 2.99 × 107 at 3 mo to 1.23 × 108 at 6 mo of storage. Addition of ascorbic acid in milk powder changed the type of radicals and reduced the oxidation off-flavor. According to the Pearson correlations, not the surface compositions but the morphological characteristics of milk powder particles should be considered in maintaining the stability of oxidized flavor in storage.