Determination of Lactulose and Furosine Formation in Heated Milk as a Milk Quality Indicator

During heat treatment and storage of milk, deteriorative reaction takes place, which consequently influence on the milk quality. In this study, formation of lactulose and furosine under different thermal conditions and storage conditions, and the ratio of lactulose and furosine (LU/FU) in presence of reconstituted milk powder were determined to establish chemical indicators for heat damages of milk and the adulteration of fresh milk in dairy field. The lactulose and furosine contents linearly increased with increased heating temperature and heating time. It showed high correlation between the formation of lactulose and furosine, and the treatment temperature and time (p<0.05). The lactulose and furosine concentration of HTST milk and UHT milk noticeably increased during storage at $30^{\circ}C$, but there was no noticeable increase of lactulose and furosine concentration at lower storage temperature. In the raw milk, the lactulose and furosine contents greatly increased with the addition of reconstituted milk. The increase level of furosine was much higher than that of lactulose, which consequently resulted in the lower LU/FU ratio in milk as increase of added reconstituted milk amounts. As comparing with raw milk, there was more than twice reduction in LU/FU ratios after the addition of reconstituted milk (p<0.05). It can be concluded that lactulose and furosine are suitable milk quality indicators of heat damage and for demonstrating improper addition of reconstituted milk powder.