Milk powders produced by spray drying are used across the food industry to make products ranging from confectionery and baked goods to soups, sauces, and beverages; they are also supplied directly to consumers. The flow properties of these powders define their utility and by extension their value, notably for efficient and effective food processing. Powders that flow easily and reliably through the production chain maximise industrial throughput, eliminating the unplanned stoppages and inefficiencies that can degrade profitability. Understanding how to make milk powders with superior flow properties is therefore advantageous, with lipid content known to be highly influential though other factors such as moisture content and particle size also have a role to play in defining flow behaviour.
In this study by researchers at the Universite de Lorraine, Nancy, France, the flowability of spraydried milk powders was investigated as a function of feed concentrate composition and an aeration pre-treatment [1]. Spray-dried powders of varying lipid content — 1.5%, 14% and 26% — were produced from skimmed, semi-skimmed and whole milk concentrates respectively, prepared by reconstituting skimmed and whole milk powders. These three samples were compared with aerated analogues, produced by whipping samples of each of the concentrates prior to spraydrying under strictly comparable conditions. Dynamic and shear flow properties were measured for all six spray-dried milk powders using the FT4 Powder Rheometer®. The results show valuable correlation between feed concentrate properties and process-relevant flow properties.
Milk powders produced by spray drying are used across the food industry to make products ranging from confectionery and baked goods to soups, sauces, and beverages; they are also supplied directly to consumers. The flow properties of these powders define their utility and by extension their value, notably for efficient and effective food processing. Powders that flow easily and reliably through the production chain maximise industrial throughput, eliminating the unplanned stoppages and inefficiencies that can degrade profitability. Understanding how to make milk powders with superior flow properties is therefore advantageous, with lipid content known to be highly influential though other factors such as moisture content and particle size also have a role to play in defining flow behaviour.
In this study by researchers at the Universite de Lorraine, Nancy, France, the flowability of spraydried milk powders was investigated as a function of feed concentrate composition and an aeration pre-treatment [1]. Spray-dried powders of varying lipid content — 1.5%, 14% and 26% — were produced from skimmed, semi-skimmed and whole milk concentrates respectively, prepared by reconstituting skimmed and whole milk powders. These three samples were compared with aerated analogues, produced by whipping samples of each of the concentrates prior to spraydrying under strictly comparable conditions. Dynamic and shear flow properties were measured for all six spray-dried milk powders using the FT4 Powder Rheometer®. The results show valuable correlation between feed concentrate properties and process-relevant flow properties.
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