Principles of the dairy processing correlated to food safety objectives

Abstract

Various processes are used to manufacture safe dairy products, such as heat processing, decreasing water activity, packaging, irradiation, processing at high pressure or in high intensity pulsed electric field, addition of synthetic preservatives, etc. Currently, research is focused on identification natural preservatives as an alternative to ynthetic ones, to meet consumer requirements through safe and healthy foods. Vegetable raw materials (herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables and seeds), in particular extracts and volatile oils obtained from them, have been shown to be natural preservatives with significant inhibitory activity against major pathogens and spoilage microorganisms in dairy products.