Development of the UHT milk production process in order to limit the milk microflora and its impact on the final product, while simultaneously minimizing negative environmental effects, confirmed by reducing the carbon footpring of the final product

One of the biggest challenges facing humanity today is to stop the planet's climate warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Methane emissions into the environment from cows and beef cattle are causing milk and beef production to be accused of being one of the causes of global warming. Given that it is not possible to suddenly change the way we provide people with an alternative food product such as milk and milk products, we should aim to reduce both the methane production of dairy cattle as much as possible and also to reduce the carbon footprint of milk processing as much as possible.

The best way to provide people with wholesome milk is to sterilise it through the UHT process. Among the dairy cooperatives currently operating in our country, it was the District Dairy Cooperative in Łowicz that was the first to introduce UHT milk to the market and is still one of the leading producers. The long shelf life reduces the risk of food waste.

The operational group set up to implement the proposed operation decided to develop a technological process for the production of UHT milk, which as a final product will have a maximally limited carbon footprint, thus minimising the negative environmental impact of the processing process. In addition, as a result of the whole process, it was planned to improve the product itself by extending its shelf life.

The aim of the project is to carry out research and development work to improve the milk production process and thus improve the target product itself. The aim of the project is to introduce milk on the market, with a minimum 20% reduction in carbon footprint and with an extended shelf life of 3 months compared to current analogous products. The introduction of UV pasteurisation of raw milk into the technological process allows the project to develop an improved product.

Project activities

Research will be carried out at laboratory scale and target production scale to ensure process stability at each stage of the project. Research planned to be carried out as part of the project will include examination of the microbiological composition of the raw material in order to identify factors supporting and limiting the proliferation of selected bacteria and the presence of enzymes produced by them.

The interrelationships between the various parameters important in the milk production process and affecting the innovative product characteristics to be achieved will be examined.

The main benefits of the project

Development of an improved product:

• The improved product features planned to be achieved by this operation are a reduction in the carbon footprint by a minimum of 20% while extending the shelf life of the product from 6 to 9 months; the use of aluminium-free, fully recyclable packaging.

New methods of organisation:

• implementation of an intelligent milk collection process (reduction of the carbon footprint, better control of the raw material collected) through the use of a system for optimising travel routes and implementation within the milk collection of individual sampling of the raw material from each supplier at the collection stage, which will improve the quality control of the raw material collected. In the case of positive verification of the possibility of conducting preliminary pasteurisation with the use of UV radiation of raw material at the level of the producer of raw milk - implementation of procedures improving the quality of raw material and development of a bonus system for producers implementing it.

Digital solutions:

• as part of the implementation of the individual sampling system, the possibility of viewing their results for a specific recipient will be made available through an IT system made available online - thanks to which raw milk producers will have the opportunity to improve the quality, identify possible deviations and threats to the quality of the raw material in a short period of time, which will affect mutual benefits, both on the side of the producer (farmer) and the recipient (OSM Łowicz) and will contribute to minimising losses related to the rejection of raw material with inappropriate quality parameters.

Practice summary

• The results of the project will contribute to supporting the agricultural sector related to dairy production. The project will plan the beneficiary's cooperation with local raw milk suppliers in the selection of raw dairy products. The project will apply a series of measures ultimately aimed at influencing a better use of resources and increasing their ecology, at every level, including the farmer - the raw milk producer. As part of the project, activities such as verification of the possibility of performing the so-called cold pasteurisation (using UV radiation) of raw milk after milking, which has a direct impact on reducing negative changes occurring in the raw material due to the multiplication of microorganisms and their metabolism products - enzymes) have been planned. At the same time, OSM Łowicz will implement advanced IT and transport solutions as part of this operation, allowing the time and routes for transporting raw material from producers to the dairy to be optimised.

• The project supports the provision of a stable and sustainable food supply by applying solutions to support the optimisation of raw milk collection from farmers and the preparation of storage recommendations. These actions are aimed at reducing possible raw material losses due to improper storage or prolonged time from milking to collection. At the same time it should be noted that OSM Łowicz, which is a dairy cooperative, is an entity established by local farmers, so a significant part of the raw material for production carried out at OSM Łowicz is based on raw material obtained from local suppliers and at the same time forming OSM. This guarantees the stability of the food supply by ensuring a stable supply of raw material to the processing plant. Due to the fact that OSM Łowicz is made up of local milk producers, this has a direct impact on the sustainability of the activities, both in terms of the resources used and the building and strengthening of the local community.

• The results of the project will strengthen cooperation between the beneficiary and local raw milk suppliers by developing standards for increasing the quality of the raw material (storage and treatment standards before collection). At the same time, thanks to the implementation and validation in the project of the use of a modern raw material transport vehicle, with an internal system for taking individual samples, their encryption and access to the IT system, it will be possible to strengthen cooperation by providing farmers with systematic knowledge of the condition of their raw material. On the one hand, this will translate into integration of the environment around OSM Łowicz and, at the same time, increased supervision of the raw material and its collection process, without additional time expenditure.

Results achieved

The aim of the operation was to carry out comprehensive research and development work focused on improving the UHT milk production process and enhancing the quality of the final product. The core objective was to develop a new UHT milk production technology with:

• a minimum 20% reduction in carbon footprint;
• an extended shelf life by 3 months, compared to currently manufactured equivalents.

Additionally, research was conducted into the potential use of UV raslization as a replacement for thermal pasteurization of raw milk. This innovative approach aimed to enable the enrichment of the final product with naturally generated vitamin D3.

Tasks completed during the various stages of the operation were targeted at achieving key project milestones. As a result, the following outcomes were accomplished:

Completion and commissioning of the research pilot line.

• Determination of optimal raw milk storage parameters at the farm level;
• identification of technological parameters across each stage of the production process, enabling the manufacture of the final improved product - UHT milk with an extended shelf life of up to 9 months;
• Reduction of energy consumption in the UHT milk production process.

Based on the results obtained during each phase of the operational, the main project objective was achieved: the development of a UHT carbon footprint compared to the previously used production method.

The key benefits of implementing the developed UHT milk production technology include:

1. Environmental benefits:

• reduction of UHT milk waste due to expiry before consumption;
• increased batch order volumes and lower transportation costs;
• use of modern production technology resulting in a 24,7% reduction in carbon footprint compared to previous methods.

2. Producer benefits:

• ability to export the product to more distant, non-EU markets;
• reduced energy input required for the production of the improved product.