Desenvolvimento e aplicação de metodologias analíticas para avaliação de indicadores de tratamento térmico em leite UHT

Abstract

Milk is considered a nutritionally rich food because it is a source of protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. During milk heat treatment, chemical reactions can occur causing changes of pre-existing compounds or formation of new compounds, which can be used as indicators of heat treatment used. The monitoring of these indicators in UHT milk is very important since they allow to draw the product and process profile and can suggest technological interventions that can minimize production costs and reduce the occurrence of any nutritional losses and distortion of the product. This study aimed to quantify the indicators whey protein nitrogen index - WPNI, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural – HMF and lactulose in UHT milk samples, with regular and reduced lactose content, sold in the domestic market. Analytical methodologies for WPNI and HMF (both measured by spectrophotometric methods) were implemented and the statistical models were fitted. Two analytical methods of separation for lactulose determination were developed and validated using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection by refractive index and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) with indirect UV detection. The results obtained in the mean comparison test of lactulose content by HPLC and CZE methods showed no significant difference between the proposed methods. The average WPNI index indicated that 76% of the samples studied are classified as "medium heat treatment". The contents of free and total HMF were able to discriminate samples with regular and reduced lactose content. Fluctuations in WPNI, free HMF and lactulose content of the examined samples suggested the occurrence of non-uniformity of processing adopted in processing UHT milk of national industries, which was confirmed by the effect of these indicators in the product. It was found that analytical methods studied are able to achieve the control methods demanded to evaluate the process and support the development and study of processing. The monitored indicators refer to the occurrence of lack of standardization in the chemical profile of UHT milk currently commercialized in Brazilian market, reflecting the need for greater control of processing by milk processing industries.