Influence of Pulsed Electric Field Technology on Functionality and Protein Structure of Evaporated Skim Milk and...

Nonfat dry milk (NFDM) powder was produced by spray drying a pulsed electric field (PEF)-treated solution of 48% (m/m) evaporated skim milk (ESM) that was treated with a field strength of 20 kV/cm and specific energy of 15 kJ/L at 150 L/h. PEF treatment induced reduction to particle size for whey proteins by 8.4% and casein micelles by 11.1% and increased conductivity by 10.6%. The PEF-treated ESM solution was less viscous than the non-PEF control (14.5% lower) and sedimentation was reduced by 40%. Increases to the tapped density (1.9%), solubility (4.7%), and emulsification stability (60%) of the NFDM were observed after PEF treatment. Evaluation of protein structure indicated no modification to the secondary structure, while minor changes to the tertiary structure were observed with increased fluorescence intensity and decreased transition temperatures. The reduction in casein micelle size for the PEF-treated ESM may be associated with the movement of minerals to the aqueous solvent. This study is the first to apply PEF technology to a highly concentrated ESM solution using a continuous flow commercial PEF system. The results of this study suggest that PEF technology may be beneficial to improving the dairy processing efficiency of ESM and product quality for NFDM.