Agriculture provides a large number of items that are processed industrially and that are of great importance for human food and nutrition, among these items is milk which is processed for marketing and also for the production of by-products that are of high consumption in society such as cheese. In this publication we will describe some of the functions that dairy industries perform when they receive milk at their facilities, without further preamble let's get started.
When the milk arrives at the dairy company or industry it is received in an area known as "Milk Reception” in this area it is guaranteed that the quantity and quality of the milk is adequate, in this area milk samples are taken that are taken to another area known as "Quality Control" whose space is a laboratory where the physical-chemical and sensory analyses of the finished products or in process are performed, it is the department in charge of taking care and ensuring the quality of the raw material received from the different dairy farms in the area, the inputs used in the transformation or elaboration of the products resulting from the process and finally determine the quality parameters of these products for their release and exit from the consumer market.
There is also an area known as the “Production" area where they are responsible for elaborating the different products that represent the company: pasteurized cheese, pasteurized milk cream, liquid milk, ricotta among others depending on the product line that the dairy industry markets, for example, in the dairy company Insolac located in the Municipality of Colón in the state of Zulia the following products are obtained:
- Pasteurized milk cream: this product is obtained with the fat-rich part of the milk that is obtained from fresh cow's milk which is skimmed and a cream of approximately 40% fat is obtained, this is pasteurized and homogenized, after that it is taken to the double-jacketed mixer tank when it reaches 45ºC, unflavored gelatin is added to it at 0.3%; sodium sorbate at 0.015 and salt at 1.4%, after having added all the ingredients, the cream is waited until it reaches a temperature of 72ºC, it is allowed to stand for 20 minutes and finally it is packaged and stored in the finished product cellar.
Pasteurized white cheese: This process is also initiated with the pasteurization of the milk, then it is sent through steel pipes to some tubs with a capacity of 6000 liters where the lactic products and the rennet are added, stirred and left to rest for 30 minutes; once curdled the whey is separated and the curdled mass is salted, then the pressing of said mass is carried out following the methodology already established by the company.
Pasteurized yellow cheese: The process of making this cheese is the same as white pasteurized cheese, with the difference that onoto is added to the yellow cheese to give it color and it is salted in a brine prepared especially for this type of cheese, in that brine it lasts 24 hours from there it is vacuum packed and taken to a storage cellar at 12ºC where it has a maturation period of 21 days, after this time it is taken out and taken to the storage cellar (4-8ºC) for its respective distribution.
On the other hand, dairy companies have an area known as ”Conservation, packaging, storage, dispatch and sale" in this area the products are vacuum packed, for example the pasteurized white cheese full bar in polyethylene bags, the pasteurized milk cream in plastic containers of 500 grams. The finished product is labeled and taken to the cellar for conservation to avoid damage losses; from there it is distributed to the different marketing points.
Finally and least important, there is usually an area of "Agricultural Services” that is responsible for making sure that the different farms that bring milk to the plant have good hygiene and milking practices, for this, visits are also made in order to contribute to rapid improvements in the handling and handling of the raw material, as well as giving technical advice to the producer.
Dear readers, these are some of the areas that can be found in the dairy industries which may vary depending on the product they want to process, in these companies strict hygienic procedures are carried out to guarantee the safety of the products that will be marketed.
Faculty of Light Sciences (2003). Introduction to raw milk quality control. "Practical Guide". Department of animal production and industry. Chair of milk science and technology.
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