Raw milk intended for intra-community trade must not contain more than 400,000 somatic cells per ml according to the EU directive. Somatic cell count is used as a criterion for ascertaining abnormal milk. These standards are shown in Table 8.1.ДЄnother measure of raw milk quality is the amount of somatic cells that can be tolerated in raw milk. To ensure milk quality, there are microbiological standards for intra-community trade in milk within Europe, set by the Council of the European Union (EU) to safeguard human and animal health. Gentle handling must be ensured so that the valuable constituents are not adversely affected. Processing of market milk products requires first-class raw material and correctly designed process lines in order to attain end products of the highest quality. This may occur, for example, if cattle feed contains plants of the onion family. De-aeration is practised in certain cases when the milk has a high air content, as well as when highly volatile off-flavour substances are present in the product. In many countries, the fat is routinely homogenized, while in others homogenization is omitted because a good вЂњcream-lineвЂќ is regarded as evidence of quality. In most countries, clarification, pasteurization and cooling are compulsory stages in the processing of consumer milk products. This group of products includes whole milk, skim milk, standardized milk and various types of cream.Д¬ultured products are also included in this category, but as these are made with special bacteria cultures, they are dealt with separately under Chapter 11, вЂњFermented milk productsвЂќ.ДЄll the building blocks described in Chapter 6 are, in principle, used in the processing of pasteurized milk products. Pasteurized milk products are liquid products made from milk and cream intended for use directly by consumers.

Pasteurization temperature milk