Operating a Milk Processing

Plant
Everything you Need to Know
& Think About
Irwin Foreman
Dairy Technologist/Processing Engineer

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 How Much Can There Be To Running A Dairy
Plant?
• Raw milk supply and • Refrigeration
quality • Recipes and formulations
• Chemistry • Laboratory analyses
• Microbiology • Quality control
• Packaging technology • Sanitation and hygiene
• Heat treatments • Wastewater treatment
• Manufacturing processes • Finance
• Steam raising • Budgeting
• Water quality • Record keeping
• Chemicals • Production and financial
• Safety issues analysis
• Manpower • Labour laws 2
 It is not just a case of
pressing a switch and
then heading for the bank

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 Big = More Automation
The general trend towards large processing
plants has provided companies with the
opportunity to acquire bigger, more
automated and more efficient equipment

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 The Processes In a Typical Milk Plant
• Collection, Reception and filtration/clarification of the raw
milk
• Separation of all or part of the milk fat for standardization of
fat content of products, production of cream and butter and
other high-fat products
• Pasteurisation to destroy pathogenic bacteria
• Homogenisation to disperse milk fat
• Addition of ingredients to improve flavour, texture, colour,
stability
• Packaging to protect the products and visually enhance
them
• Distribution of final products
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 Raw Milk Reception

Storage

Pasteurization Separation Cream

Products from this plant
layout: Homogenization Skim Milk
Pasteurized milk
Cream, cultured,
Cream
whipping, fresh
Pasteurization
Feta cheese
Cheese

Soft cheese Low fat

products Used in other
Butter products
Desserts
Yoghurt Packaging and Cold Storage and
Distribution
Cultured milk 6
 Product Labels
• Label design needs to be started as early
as possible
• Work with a graphics firm which is familiar
with specific dairy labeling requirements
• Package printing requires time to prepare

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 Purpose of Pasteurization
• Public Health Aspect – to make milk and
milk products safe for human consumption

• Keeping Quality Aspect – to improve the

keeping quality of milk and milk products by
reducing the number of bacteria in the milk
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 Objectives of Pasteurisation
• Inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms,
as evidenced by a negative phosphatase
test result.
• Limiting of chemical, physical and
organoleptic changes.
• Improvement of the product keeping quality.

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 With minimal
changes

Heating + Holding Heat to legal

pasteurization
No delay temperature and
Cooling time

With minimal
delay Minimal
recontamination

Packaging

Objectives and Operational Aspects of Pasteurisation

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 Pasteurisation Temperature and Time

• Pasteurisation temperature and time are

primary factors which must be specified
precisely
• Using the optimum pasteurization
temperature and time influences the
quality and shelf life of dairy products

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 Pasteurisation Temperature and Time

• Cream is usually pasteurised 3C higher

than required for milk.
• Government regulations generally allow
using any other time temperature
combination of equal or greater lethal
effect on bacteria.
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 Temperature/time combinations that satisfy
pasteurisation requirements

63C/30 minutes
72C /15 seconds
These are equivalent heat treatments

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The US FDA Pasteurised Milk Ordinance #229 specifies the following table .

Temperature 63 72 89 90 94 96 100
(C)
Time 1800 15 1 0.5 0.1 0.05 0.01
(seconds)

The 63C and 72C are increased by 3C if the fat content is >10%.

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 Post-pasteurisation Temperatures
• The pasteurised milk should be cooled to 3C to 4C
before filling.
• During the filling operation, the temperature will
increase by 1 - 2C, depending on the length of the
lines, the design of the filling machine and the time
delay until the milk is transferred to the cold store.
• The cold store temperature should be maintained at
not more than 4-5C.

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 Pasteurisation and Packaging
Combinations

• The configuration layout of the heat

treatment, cooling and packaging can be
structured in several ways.
• The most common configuration uses a
continuous flow heat treatment and
cooling.
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Alternative Systems
In-Package Pasteurization
Pasteurisation, cooling,
Pasteurisation in a sealed
subsequent packaging
container
Promilk System

Pasteurization in a tank
Cooling in the same tank VAT Pasteurization
Filling into packages Batch Pasteurisation - cooling

Pasteurization in a continuous Heat Exchanger

process – cooling - filling Pasteurization
Continuous flow pasteurisation-
cooling

Pasteurisation – Packaging Combinations

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 Heat Exchangers
• The plate heat exchanger consists of a bank
of stainless steel plates sealed against
leakage by gaskets to form a cell between
each pair of plates.
• The plates are suspended from a frame and
compressed together by a mechanical
screw press.

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19
Heat Exchange - Regeneration

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 The Pasteuriser Plates
• Each plate has four ports, one at each corner, and the
gasket design is such that the liquid being heated enters a
cell through one port and leaves through the diagonally
opposite port.
• Liquid being cooled flows diagonally and counter currently
through the adjacent cells on the other side of the plates.
• The arrangement of the corner passages is such that the
product flows through alternate channels in the plate pack.

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HTST Plates

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 Temperature Control

• Pasteurization is a heat and time process.

• Both these parameters must be accurately
controlled.
• The time parameter is invariably fixed,
determined by the liquid flow rate and the
diameter of the holding tube.

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Stainless Steel and Rubber Materials

Stainless Steel
• The most frequently used denominations of
stainless steel and acid resistant steel are the
American (AISI) and the German (W.No.).
• These denominations have the following
demands to the contents of the most essential
alloys.

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 Composition of Stainless Steel

Descriptions Chrome Nickel Molybdenum Carbon

Cr% Ni% Mo% C%
AISI 304 18.0-20.0 8.0-10.5  0.08
AISI 316 16.0-18.0 10.0-14.0 2.0-3.0  0.08
AISI 316L 16.0-18.0 10.0-14.0 2.0-3.0  0.03
W.Nr.1.4301 17.0-19.0 8.0-10.5  0.07

W.Nr.1.4401 16.5-18.5 10.5-13.5 2.0-2.5  0.07

W.Nr.1.4404 16.5-18.5 11.0-14.0 2.0-2.5  0.03

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 National and Alfa Laval Standards
Description AISI 304 AISI 316 AISI 316L

England BS 304 S 15 BS316 S 16 BS 316 S 11 and 316 S

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Germany W.Nr. 1.4301 W.Nr. 1.4401 W.Nr. 1.4404

Sweden SS 2333 SS 2347 SS 2348

USA AISI 304 AISI 316 AISI 316L

Alfa Laval AL 111 23 32-02 AL 111 23 49-02 AL 111 23 59-02

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 Standard & Typical Products
• Pasteurized liquid milk
• Butter
• Yoghurt
• Cheese

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 Butter Production
The butter-making process, whether by batch or continuous
methods consists of the following steps
• Preparation of the cream
• Churning to destabilization and breakdown of the fat and water
emulsion
• Aggregation and concentration of the fat particles
• Formation of a stable emulsion (churning)
• Packaging and storage
• Distribution

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The basic processing system for a
butter-making plant.
The initial steps,
(filtration/clarification, separation
and pasteurisation of the milk) are
the same as described in the
previous section.

Milk destined for butter making

must not be homogenized, because
the cream must remain in a
separate phase.

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 Butter Processing Routes
• After separation, cream to be used for butter making
is pasteurized and cooled under conditions that
facilitate good whipping and churning
• It may then be ripened with a culture that increases
the content of diacetyl, the compound responsible for
the flavour of butter.
• Alternatively, culture inoculation may take place
during churning.

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 Salting and Packaging
• Both cultured and sweet cream butter can be
produced with or without the addition of salt
• The presence of salt affects both the flavour and the
keeping quality
• Butter is usually packaged in bulk quantities (25 kg)
for long-term storage and then re-packed into
marketable portions (usually 250 g or 500 g), and
single-serve packs of 10–1 g).
• Butter may also be packed in internally lacquered
cans, for special markets such as the tropics and the
Middle East. 31
 Cheese Production
• Virtually all cheese is made by coagulating
milk protein (casein) in a manner that traps
milk solids and milk fat into a curd matrix
• This curd matrix is then consolidated to
express the liquid fraction, cheese whey
• Cheese whey contains those milk solids
which are not held in the curd mass, in
particular most of the milk sugar (lactose) and
the soluble whey proteins 32
 Monitoring & Controlling the
Process
• Control the rate of acid production to suit the
variety of cheese
• The parameters available for you to work with
–
Temperature, pressure (cheddaring), culture
activity, time

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How to Control the Cheese Making
Process?

• Define each stage in terms of

Acidity and Time

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Cheese Processing Line
All traditional hard cheeses are
made using this basic process
Different varieties of cheese are
made by varying the types of
bacterial cultures used, processing
temperatures and timing of the
stages of the process, so altering
the rate of acid production by the
culture bacteria

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 Milk Contamination
• The contamination of milk with antibiotics is both a
health concern and a potential risk when processing
cultured products
• This is due to the overuse of antibiotics for treatment
of cattle diseases, particularly mastitis.
• It has been brought under control in most countries
with developed dairy industries, through strict
limitations on the use of antibiotics, regular testing of
milk for antibiotic residues, rigorous enforcement of
regulations, and education
• In the processing plant all milk should be tested for
the presence of antibiotics 36
 Water Treatment & Usage
• Dairy processing characteristically requires very
large quantities of fresh water.
• Water is used primarily for cleaning process
equipment and work areas to maintain hygiene
standards.
• Water Quality Issues – Chemistry
• Boiler water – Water treatment

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 Effluent Discharge
• The dominant environmental problem
caused by dairy processing is the
discharge of large quantities of liquid
effluent.
• Wastewater Chemistry – BOD, COD, Total
Solids, Fat Content. Local authority
legislation demands
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 Plant Effluents
• For plants located near urban areas, effluent is often
discharged to municipal sewage treatment systems.
• For some municipalities, the effluent from local dairy
processing plants can represent a significant load on
sewage treatment plants
• In extreme cases, the organic load of waste milk solids
entering a sewage system may well exceed that of the
township’s domestic waste, overloading the system.

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 Energy Consumption
• Electricity is used for the operation of machinery,
refrigeration, ventilation, lighting and the
production of compressed air
• Refrigeration systems must be kept operating
24/7
• Thermal energy, in the form of steam, is used for
heating and cleaning.

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 Solid Wastes
• Dairy products such as milk, cream and yogurt are typically
packed in plastic-lined paperboard cartons, plastic bottles and
cups, plastic bags or reusable glass bottles.
• Other products, such as butter and cheese, are wrapped in foil,
plastic film or small plastic containers.
• Milk powders are commonly packaged in multi-layer kraft paper
sacks or tinned steel cans
• Some other products, such as condensed milks, are commonly
packed in cans.
• Breakages and packaging mistakes cannot be totally avoided.
• Improperly packaged dairy product can often be returned for
reprocessing, however the packaging material is generally
discarded.
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 Refrigerants
Dairy refrigeration systems continue to use
ammonia as the most common refrigerant

Ammonia systems need to be well

maintained to prevent leakage

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 Noise
• Some processes, such as the production of dried casein,
require the use of hammer mills to grind the product.
• The constant noise generated by this equipment has been
known to be a nuisance in surrounding residential areas.
• The use of steam injection for heat treatment of milk and for the
creation of reduced pressure in evaporation processes also
causes high noise levels.
• A substantial traffic load in the immediate vicinity of a dairy
plant is generally unavoidable due to the regular delivery of
milk (which may be on a 24-hour basis), deliveries of
packaging and the regular shipment of products.
• Noise problems should be taken into consideration when
determining plant location. 43
 Hazardous Wastes
• Hazardous wastes consist of oily sludge from
gearboxes of moving machines, laboratory
waste, cooling agents, oily paper filters,
batteries, paint cans etc.
• At present, in western Europe some of these
materials are collected by waste companies.
• While some waste is incinerated, much is simply
dumped.
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 Water Consumption
• In modern dairy processing plants, a water
consumption rate of 1.3–2.5 litres water/kg of milk
intake is typical,
• However 0.8–1.0 litres water/kg of milk intake is
possible
• To achieve such low consumption requires not only
well-designed equipment, but also very good
housekeeping and awareness among both
employees and management.
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 Milk Losses in Processing
• A major contributing factor to a dairy plant’s effluent
load is the cumulative effect of minor and, on
occasions, major losses of milk.
• These losses can occur, for example, when pipe
work is uncoupled during tank transfers or
equipment is being rinsed
• Even in a well managed plant the expected routine
losses are usually around 2%
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 Raw Milk Payment Plans
• Traditionally, plants paid for milk by volume
• Usually an extra payment was made for high fat
content
• Fat is now regarded as being less desirable in
nutrition
• Payment is now usually based on the weight of
fat and protein in the milk and weighted in favour
of protein content
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 Packaging Materials
• Choose packaging to suit customer and market
expectations
• Attractive packaging is a major selling attraction
• How much stock needs to be held in the plant?
• Packaging quality control system is essential

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 Formulations & Recipes for
Products
• Written formulations with clear instructions
to the staff – SOPs
• Define the process stages and set target
parameters and values
• What quality of ingredients will you use?
• What stock do you need to hold?
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 Laboratory Services
• Can you do all the laboratory work in the plant?
• Chemistry, Bacteriology, Physical measurements
• Cost of out-sourcing laboratory analyses
• Frequency of testing
• Accuracy of results
• Response to and Use of results

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 Sanitation & Hygiene
• Employee training
• Monitoring employees work behaviours
• Reviewing & Rectifying undesirable work behaviours
• Personal hygiene
• Instructions on use of chemicals in daily operations
• Storage of chemicals when not in use

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 Manpower
• Skills needed to operate the plant
• Number of staff required
• Departmental divisions
• Choosing suitable departmental managers
• Motivation incentives – extras, bonuses
• Salaries, Overtime
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 Record Keeping
• Milk intake/output
• Products – efficiency of production, stock
• Processes – times, temperatures, pressures,
volumes, weights, packages, losses
• Work hours per product
• Packaging usage per 100 litres
• Filling machine filling volumes
• Calibration of process milk tanks
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 Financial Analysis
• Can you calculate the real cost of producing a
package of any specific product?
• Cost of processing analysis system
• Efficiency indexes
• Collection of data
• Banking and money handling costs
• Credit costs
• Theft of products and/or money
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Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality.
Clifton Fadiman
US author, editor, & radio host (1904 - )

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