Measurement of homogenisation efficiency of milk by laser diffraction and centrifugation

For ultra high temperature (UHT) milk, the development of a cream layer is a shelf life limiting factor that can be controlled by homogenising the milk correctly. This article suggests a method to measure homogenisation efficiency using laser diffraction. Milk was diluted with a protein cluster dissolving solution before measurement with a Malvern Mastersizer 3000. To avoid multiple scattering obscuration needed to be 1.5-3.5%. The D[5;3] (mu m) value extracted from the particle size distribution could, with the equation developed, be directly correlated to a homogenisation efficiency (NIZO value) obtained by centrifugation of the milk sample. The equation presented is only valid for monomodal distributions and analysis should be performed on freshly produced milk. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.