Dairy industry is an important player in the India’s agriculture based economy. The major activities that are included in dairy farming are breeding and careful rising of cattle, milking them, and processing of milk and producing various milk products.

Various processes in the dairy industry

Dairy sector has now become a highly specialized field which includes various processes such as production, procurement, storage, processing and distribution of milk and milk products. Production and processing are the most important areas as far as jobs are considered. The production area is taken care of by dairy scientists. They conduct research into the matters like the impact of various kinds of feeds and environmental changes on the quantity, quality, and nutritive value of milk produced. In addition to this, they also conduct research in the area of breeding to improve breeds, feeding and management of dairy cattle.

Processing of milk includes activities such as handling of milk for distribution, or its transformation into dairy products. Processing is carried out in the plant, where it is converted into different milk products. The technical and quality control activities are performed by dairy technologists. The dairy technologists look into introducing improved methods in processing, production, preservation and utilization of milk and milk products.

Need for pasteurization and homogenization

The components of milk are excellent habitats for microorganisms. This requires careful cleaning and disinfection in order to make it suitable for human consumption. The objective of disinfection is to destroy maximum number of bacteria as possible to prevent infections.

Pasteurization is carried out to make it suitable for human consumption. It involves heat treatment of milk in order to prevent public health hazards that may arise as a result of presence of pathogenic microorganisms associated with milk. Pasteurization increases the shelf life of the dairy product. It is intended to produce minimum chemical, physical and organoleptic changes in the dairy products to be stored in cold storage.

In order to prevent separation of the milk products, they are usually homogenized. To enhance water binding, reduce free fat, etc., dairy products are also homogenized. It is carried out in high pressure homogenizer.

Milk and milk products are consumed by human beings every day. With out careful processing, it can be source for diseases and cause serious health problems. This calls for the importance for a specialized stream of study to deal with the various processes involved in the production and processing of milk and milk products.