Sources of spoilage bacteria and emerging sanitisation technologies

Summary

• The NZ dairy sector is vital to the economy, facing challenges from farm intensification, which affects microbial contamination in milk requiring improved quality management.
• Spoilage bacteria and their enzymes (proteases and lipases) pose significant risk to dairy products. Spores and enzymes can persist through current pasteurization processes.
• Emerging technologies such as far-UVC, blue LED light and cold plasma offer effective solutions for microbial inactivation, enzyme reduction and biofilm management, presenting environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional methods.
• Combining cold plasma with light technologies shows promise for enhanced disinfection, biofilm control and shelf-life extension. Potential on-farm and processing line applications.