Advances in filtration technology are making new products possible in food and beverage.
For example, bacteria and spoilage organisms in milk are easily removed by microfilters with pore sizes ranging from 0.1 to 20 microns. Canada’s Dairyland dairy, now a unit of Saputo, promotes this benefit with Pure N Fresh microfiltered milk. Ultrafiltration units with pores ranging from 0.01 to 0.2 microns have been shown to affect the appearance and sensory properties of fluid milk because of the protein molecules that can be retained and then added back. Molecules that manage to work their way through the membrane exhibit different organoleptic properties, with a richer mouthfeel attributed to the squeezed proteins. A significant body of research on the sensory, nutritional and bacteria-removal effects of membrane filtration has been compiled in the last decade by David M. Barbano and other food scientists at the Northeast Dairy Foods Research Center at Cornell University. Research on protein standardization via ultrafiltration shaped the development of HP Hood’s Simply Smart low- and no-fat milk.