A comprehensive review on heat treatments and related impact on the quality and microbial safety of milk and milk-based products

This review presents a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the microorganisms in milk and their growth and the heat treatments used to minimize their number. Milk and milk-based products provide a suitable environment for the growth of microorganisms such as yeasts, molds, and a wide range of bacteria. The variation in the microbial count is attributable to the degree of contamination and the processing temperature at various stages of milk processing. It has been acknowledged that the heat treatment of milk, such as pasteurization, permits its safe devouring with regards to food-borne illness. At the same time, its negligence in sufficient amount ensued in both withdrawals of products and food disease breakouts. In this review, different aspects of heat treatments that have an impact on relevant microbes, that encompasses the illustration of D and Z values as a way to calculate heat resistance, factors affecting D- values, and the effect of heat treatments on microbes present in dairy foods. Also, mild methods for food preservation have been developed as a result of the increasing demand for fresh-like foods. These methods preserve the sensory, nutritional, and other functional properties of foods due to the inactivation of microorganisms at sub-lethal temperatures.