Browsing by Author "Matak, Kristen E."

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    Effects of UV Irradiation on the Reduction of Bacterial Pathogens and Chemical Indicators of Milk
    Matak, Kristen E. (Virginia Tech, 2004-11-22)
    Consumer demand for fresher and minimally processed foods has brought about a movement to find effective, non-thermal processing technologies for the treatment of milk. The influence of temperature on bacterial reduction in UV irradiated milk was tested. Commercially processed skim, reduced fat (2%), and whole milk samples were inoculated with a naladixic acid resistant E. coli O157:H7 surrogate (ATCC 25922), maintained at or brought to 4oC and 20oC, respectively, and then exposed to a UV light dose between 5.3-6.3 mJ/cm2 for approximately 1.5 sec using the CiderSure 3500 apparatus (FPE Inc., Macedon, NY). Bacterial concentrations before and after UV exposure were enumerated and the results indicated that processing temperature was not significantly related to bacterial reduction (p > 0.05). The results did indicate that skim milk samples had a greater bacterial reduction, regardless of processing temperature compared to reduced fat milk and whole milk samples (p < 0.05). Solids such as milk fat, protein, lactose and minerals, in the milk have a greater effect over bacterial reductions than processing temperatures. Traditional goat cheeses are produced using unpasteurized milk, which increases the food safety concerns for these types of products. Fresh goat's milk was inoculated to 107 cfu/ml with Listeria monocytogenes (L-2289) and exposed to UV light using the CiderSure 3500 apparatus. Inoculated milk was exposed to an ultraviolet dose range between 0 and 20 mJ/cm2 to determine the optimal UV dose. A greater than 5-log reduction was achieved (p < 0.0001) when the milk was processed 12 times for a cumulative exposure time of roughly 18 sec and a cumulative UV dose of 15.8 +/- 1.6 mJ/cm2. The results of this study indicate that UV irradiation could be used for the reduction of L. monocytogenes in goat's milk. Organoleptic consequences of goat's milk treated with UV technology were assessed. Olfactory studies were conducted and a highly significant difference was determined between the odor of fresh goat's milk and UV processed milk (p < 0.05). The extent of lipid oxidation and hydrolytic rancidity was measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and acid degree values (ADVs). Results indicated that as the UV dose increased, there was a significant increase in TBARS values and ADVs of the milk samples (p < 0.05). Milk samples were processed using the UV processor under the same conditions as previously described without exposure to the UV source to determine if the agitation from pumping was causing off-flavors by way of hydrolytic rancidity. The ADVs from these samples increased at the same rate as the UV irradiated samples; however, sensory studies indicated that the increase of free fatty acids (FFA) was not enough to cause detectable off-odors in the milk. Solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography (SPME-GC) was utilized to quantify the production of volatile compounds that were formed due to UV processing. The formation of pentanal, hexanal and heptanal was identified after as little as 1.3 mJ/cm2 UV dose. Peak areas were measured and analyzed after 7.8 mJ/cm2 and 15.6 mJ/cm2 and were determined to increase significantly as UV dose increased (p < 0.05). The chemical analyses supported the findings from the olfactory studies. The outcome of this research showed that UV irradiation at the wavelength 254 nm, was detrimental to certain chemical properties of fluid milk. The properties that were perceived as negative in fluid milk may be considered an attribute in certain types of cheese and future studies in the cheese production sector should be considered. Other applications for this technology could be for use in developing countries where milk is not typically processed because of the high costs of thermal pasteurization. On-farm applications for the treatment of replacement milk should also be considered.
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    The influence of lactose hydrolysis on the strength and sensory characteristics of vanilla ice cream
    Matak, Kristen E.; Wilson, James H.; Duncan, Susan E.; Wilson, Edward J.; Hackney, Cameron Raj; Sumner, Susan S. (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2003)
    Lactose hydrolysis was investigated as a method of producing a more extrudable ice cream product. Ice cream mixes were treated with lactase from the microbial sources Kluyveromyces lactis and Aspergillus oryzae to produce 0% to 100% lactose hydrolysis. Compression measurements and yield stress tests of frozen ice cream were both affected by the temperature of the samples. As the temperature decreased, the work required to compress the ice cream 10 mm (firmness) and the torsional shear stress both increased. There was a linear relationship between the firmness of lactose-hydrolyzed ice cream (0%, 80%, and 100%) and temperature (r(2) = 0.98, 0.99, and 0.97, respectively). The treated samples were significantly softer that? the control, but not different from each other There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in ice cream dippability between the control samples (0% hydrolyzed) and the treatment groups (80% and 100% hydrolyzed). The control group was consistently harder to dip. Hydrolysis of lactase in the ice cream mix produced a softer, more extrudable product.
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    Lactose Hydrolysis by Fungal and Yeast Lactase: Influence on Freezing Point and Dipping Characteristics of Ice Cream
    Matak, Kristen E. (Virginia Tech, 1999-01-11)
    Two studies were conducted to examine the effects of lactose hydrolysis on freezing point and dipping characteristics of ice cream. The overall research objective was to determine changes in freezing point, texture and ease of dipping ice cream as a result of lactose hydrolysis. It was also the goal of this research to relate observations from the sensory dippability study with hardness and yield stress data to determine if the latter methods could be used as an alternative to human testing of dippability. In the first experiment, ice cream mixes were treated with lactase (EC 3.2.1.23) to cause 0 to 83% lactose hydrolysis. Lactose hydrolysis decreased the freezing point from -1.63oC in the control (0% hydrolysis) to -1.74oC in the 83% hydrolyzed sample (p < 0.05). Firmness decreased from 0.35 J in the control sample to 0.08 J in the 83% hydrolyzed sample. Lactose hydrolyzed samples melted at a faster rate than the control. There was a difference (p < 0.05) in ease of dipping between samples treated with lactase and the control. There were no perceived differences in sweetness and coldness. In the second study, ice cream mixes were treated with lactase (EC 3.2.1.23) from the microbial sources Kluyveromyces lactis and Aspergillus oryzae to cause 0 to 100% lactose hydrolysis. Compression measurements and yield stress as measured by the vane method were both affected by the temperature of the samples. R2 values for compression measurements as related to lactose hydrolysis were higher then those obtained for yield stress measurements. Human evaluation determined a difference (p < 0.05) between the control samples (0% hydrolyzed) and the treatment groups (80% and 100% hydrolyzed). This research demonstrated a relationship between lactose hydrolysis and ease of dipping ice cream. The results implied that the effect of lactose hydrolysis on the dipping characteristics could be evaluated successfully by three different methods: the vane method, compression measurements, and human evaluation. Changes in freezing point due to lactose hydrolysis were minimal, implying that monitoring freezing point is not enough to determine textural characteristics.