The foamability of milk is once more in the spotlight, and the BC Milk Marketing Board is now giving producers information that can help them anticipate potential issues.
“We now have enough research and data gathered to know that milk that has free fatty acids greater than 1.2 mmol/100g butterfat will not foam,” the board told producers in a January 22 bulletin.
During the latter half of 2023, the percentage of FFA tests that exceeded the threshold were at some of their highest rates seen since 2020, when the issue came to the fore.
September saw 22.7% of tests exceed the threshold, the third highest after August 2022 and January 2021.
Moreover between November 15, 2022, and April 26, 2023, there were four instances where processors could not market the milk they received.
“In these cases, during pasteurization the rancid odour was extreme, and the butterfat coagulated on top of the milk in the vat in large pieces,” the board reported. “Producers responsible for this milk received a non-qualifying milk penalty and were not paid for that milk shipment.”
While these four instances were extreme, non-foaming milk also prevents coffee bars from serving up the cappuccinos and lattes urbanites desire.
The issue rose to the top in 2020, as retail customers served up complaints to processors about the poor performance of their milk.
FFA levels are affected by a number of factors including agitation of the milk, excessive air emission, overpumping and temperature fluctuations. These actions can cause the membrane surrounding milk fats to break down, freeing them.
Work to educate producers and limit the incidence of FFA is an ongoing challenge, as the recent resurgence of high FFA levels indictes.
“This issue continues to be problematic today, impacting all stakeholders in the value chain,” the milk board says.
It encourages producers with elevated FFA levels to contact Erin Cuthbert, dairy technologist with the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Food to discuss corrective actions.
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