Effect of incorporation of Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) carbohydratederivatives on quality attributes of skim milk

Reducing the fat content of dairy products adversely affects their flavour, texture and mouthfeel which consequently affect the consumer acceptance of skim milk. It was observed in the present study that pasteurized toned milk (3% fat, 8.5% SNF) had better sensory properties and higher viscosities than pasteurized skim milk, showing the importance of fat in consumer acceptance of milk samples. In commercial practice, skim milk is therefore traded only upon UHT treatment as it was much better in sensory properties than pasteurized skim milk. Since carbohydrate derivatives are usually used as fat mimetics, Inulin fruitafit text and fruitafit HD and polydextrose were added at different levels (0-2.5%) to skim milk to improve its quality attributes. It is observed that incorporation of a 1% level of polydextrose in combination with either of inulins (@ 1%) had improved viscosity and sensory properties. The rheological properties of such milk were comparable to that of toned milk and better than that of UHT skim milk. The quality of the skim milk added with carbohydrate derivatives was not affected by the normal processing treatments, such as homogenisation, pasteurization, boiling and sterilization. The gross constituents such as fat, protein, lactose and ash contents did not differ much with the control skim milk sample. The pH, acidity, and color (measured as % reflectance) of the skim milk samples added with the derivative were within the normal range. The samples were heat-stable, had high MBR time and when packed in LDPE pouches and stored at 50C kept well for two days. After appropriate approvals from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) pasteurised skim milk added with GRAS carbohydrate derivatives can be commercialised with improved consumer acceptance and affordability.