Novel Sterilisation Process to Enable Dairy By-Product Recovery and Utilization as a High Value Nutritional Food Product

This study aims to develop a novel sterilisation technology to produce a high value dairy product from a current by-product generated during the production and processing of dairy milk and cream. Sterilisation is an essential process stage in milk and cream production. There are two main techniques used High Temperature Short Time (HTST) and Ultra High Temperature (UHT). Both are effective in extending milk and cream shelf-life. However, a by-product from the milk separation process cannot either technically or cost effectively be sterilised using these techniques. This by-product is highly bacterially unstable and is disposed of as waste costing UK dairy producers between £100k and £1m per annum. This project aims to offer a new process to effectively sterilise the by-product generating a saleable product and significantly reducing wasteage and waste disposal costs.