Currently one of the most widely used parameters for identifying the thermic treatment of milk is FUROSINA (a product using the Maillard reaction), which is however both very expensive and very time consuming since it requires the use of the HPLC, an instrument that can only be used by expert personnel.
An INNOVATIVE test studied by CDR laboratory researchers is the e-FRUTTOSIL-LISINA, which is also based on the Maillard reaction and which can therefore be used as an indicator of the thermic treatment of milk.
The evaluation of the heat-treatment is a very important point for assessing milk quality. e-FRUCTOSYL-LYSINE is a product of the Maillard reaction.
The e-Fructosyl-lysine content was tested in 5 samples of milk subjected to different heat treatments .
The samples, without any preliminary manipulation, were tested using the innovative FoodLab system by CDR.
The reaction is followed for the first minute and the slope of the regression line obtained is calculated. The data show that there is an excellent correspondence between e-Fructosyl-lysine content and heat-treatment of milk. Furthermore, the simplicity and inexpensiveness of the FoodLab system make this a user-friendly test.
F. Bonicolini, M. Bicchiega, from bio-chemical laboratoies of CDR Analisi e sviluppo sistemi cibernetici (Arezzo - Italy), presented Maillard reaction evaluation by e-fructosyl-lysine during milk thermal processing: first step at CONGRILAIT 2002 - PARIS