science

Queensland company develops technology to prevent milk going out of date – NEWS.com.au


It’s a problem many Aussies face – not getting through that carton of milk in the fridge in time and having to do the dreaded sniff test.

Now a Queensland company has come up with a way to avoid doing that for at least 60 days, developing a breakthrough technology that keeps it fresh for that long.

The world-first technology, said to be the biggest breakthrough in the global milk industry since pasteurisation in 1864, has been unveiled by Naturo, an Australian food technology company based in Coolum.

Their new processing technique keeps natural milk safe for human consumption for more than two months.

The process, approved by Dairy Food Safety Victoria, is said to ensure no additives or preservatives, and natural colour and taste.

Naturo boss Jeff Hastings said the technology was a game-changer for the global export market because the extended shelf life allowed it to be shipped, rather than flown, to markets all over the world including Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

He said while the process had only been applied to cow’s milk it had the potential to expand to other forms of milk including camel, goat and sheep’s milk.

Mr Hastings has previously developed processing technology for sliced apples for the international market and more recently commercialised technology that produces ‘no-browning’ cut avocado.

His company is backed by Dr Glen Richards of Shark Tank fame.

“Our milk tastes like milk straight from the cow,” he said.

“It is safer, better for you and lasts longer. The primary difference between our milk and pasteurised milk is the fact that we don’t “cook” the milk to make it safe for human consumption.

“Our milk is much closer to milk in its original state and is independently proven to be nutritionally superior.”

He said pasteurisation heated milk to a minimum of 72C for at least 15 seconds to make it safe whereas they were able to kill pathogens without relying on heat.

“Another issue with pasteurised milk is that while heating makes it safer, it destroys some of the goodness in the milk, specifically it kills all alkaline phosphatase activity, an essential enzyme for liver function and bone development, and reduces the Vitamin B2 and B12 levels,” he said.

“These are particularly essential vitamins for children.

“Our patented process is the only known method that kills bacillus cereus, a common but unwanted spore forming bacterium in milk that produces toxins causing vomiting or diarrhoea. Our process makes our milk really safe.

“Put simply, our technology kills more of the bugs and has a significantly superior shelf life.”

He said the milk even lasted for 91 days in one test, compared to 14 days for standard fresh pasteurised milk.

“Our milk can be shipped to all parts of the world that have limited or no access to fresh milk,” he said.

“There is also massive potential for the development of a wide range of dairy products and use by industries where unpasteurised milk is desired, such as cheese making.”

Naturo is seeking investment for a pilot plant in Australia capable of producing 10 million litres of milk per year.

The plant will allow the company to establish commercial scale operations for its own brand of products for the domestic and Asian markets.

It recently received $250,000 from the Queensland Government in support of the technology.



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