TITLE:
Evaluation of the Use of Sodium Thiocyanate and Sodium Percarbonate in the Activation of the Lactoperoxidase System in the Conservation of Raw Milk without Refrigeration in the Ecuadorian Tropics
AUTHORS:
Martin Campos-Vallejo, Byron Puga-Torres, Luis Núñez-Naranjo, David De la Torre-Duque, Samantha Morales-Arciniega, Enrique Vayas
KEYWORDS:
Lactoperoxidase System, Raw Milk, Conservation, Coliforms
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.8 No.5,
May
18,
2017
ABSTRACT: Milk
production in Ecuador has enormous economic importance and large-, medium- and small-scale
producers all participate in the market. There are multiple climatic regions,
and dairy production is present in every one of them. High ambient temperatures
in the Ecuadorian tropics represent a key challenge to the conservation of milk
in the custody of smallholders. The objective of the present study was to
evaluate the efficiency of the application of a chemical activator of the
Lactoperoxidase System (LP-s) in the conservation of raw milk, at room
temperature, in the Ecuadorian tropics. In the present study, sodium thiocyanate—0.36 g·L-1 of milk—and sodium percarbonate—1.36 g·L-1 of milk—as an activator of LP-s were used and the pH
and microbiological characteristics (total coliforms, Staphylococcus
aureus, total
aerobes, molds and yeasts) of the milk at different storage times (0, 4 and 8
hours). The results obtained in the present study showed a significant
difference between the two groups under study at 8 hours of storage at room
temperature in all parameters (except yeasts where there was no growth in the
two treatments), being relevant the significant decrease of the bacterial
content. Thus the present study shows that the use of sodium thiocyanate and
sodium percarbonate in the above described concentrations could be modulating
the activation of LP-s that provides an efficient alternative for the
conservation of the raw milk without refrigeration, improving the income for
losses of the product and obtaining a raw material of good quality for sale or
for further processing, mainly for small producers who do not have the economic
resources to have refrigeration means for their product and who must transport
their milk for considerably longer distances until they arrive at the
collection centers or the processing plants for sale, thus showing that the
method used in the present study is not only effective but also has a
relatively low cost and easy application.