Tuesday, October 18, 2011

THE DANGER OF MILK FERMENTATION

Too much and too many have been said about the wonders of milk fermentation. The media is over whelmed by the goodness derived out of milk fermentation such nutrients, vitamins and digestibility as associated with yogurt.
Yet dangers lurk in milk fermentation especially if the milk fermentation is not carried out properly, contaminated or even consumed after its expiry date. Just how many of us have taken seriously the expiry date notice that is written on the labels?
As we know it milk is a very wholesome and nutritious food. It is not only good for the humans and cows that drink the milk but also it is a wonderful food that is rich and nutrients and can support a lot of fastidious or fussy microorganisms.
While it is true in most modern milk fermentation industries there are controls to prevent microbial contamination, it should also be noted that the actions taken do not really guarantee that the fermented milk is safe.
In most of these modern milk fermentation industries there are steps to reduce or kill the unwanted microbial contaminants. Most of it involved the use of heat to sterilize the milk components. But in reality it is no guarantee. Pasteurisation is not a fool proof method to prevent microbial contamination. The use of high temperature for a long time could in itself denature and spoil the nutritive values of the milk
While still in fermentation the milk could be contaminated by process failures or even poor sanitary conditions of the production floor or poor sanitary conditions of the fermentation plant.
The situation is even more critical in small cottage industries where they lack proper facilities to sample and detect and control the contamination by the unwanted microbes. Although it is recommended that such milk fermentation products be kept in a cold temperature, it is possible that some of the fermented milk products continue carrying the fermentation process resulting in the changes in the biochemical environment such as the ph which could no longer protect the milk fermentation products of its microbe suppressing activity.
At best it can be said drink your fermented milk as soon as possible!


Type rest of the post here.

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