MEDIA ADVISORY

National Center works to extend shelf life of milk

CHICAGO, August 17, 2000-A task force at the National Center for Food Safety and Technology (NCFST) will draft a guidelines document for the production of ultra-pasteurized extended shelf-life milk.

Ultra-pasteurized extended shelf life (ESL) milk keeps longer but poses greater challenges than ordinary pasteurized milk. In pasteurized milk, spoilage organisms limit the shelf life. As a result, pasteurized milk spoils before becoming unsafe. With ESL milk, the thermal process of ultra-pasteurization destroys spoilage organisms along with pathogens. If the milk is contaminated after ultra-pasteurization, there is the potential that the product could develop high levels of pathogens without the usual signs of spoilage.

Task force members plan to issue the guidelines document by year-end. The task force's first meeting this month drew about 60 scientists and executives from industry, academia and government, representing such organizations as Dairy Management Inc., the International Dairy Foods Association, the Milk Safety Branch of the Food and Drug Administration, and the International Association of Food Industry Suppliers. Dr. Walther Heeschen of the Federal Dairy Research Centre in Kiel, Germany delivered the keynote address.

Steering Committee Chair Dr. George Muck, vice president of research and development for Dean Foods, praised the National Center's role in organizing the task force: "The National Center is a logical choice to be involved in these kinds of endeavors. They bring a lot to the table in their interaction with universities and industry and FDA."

The National Center is the one place in the U.S. where scientists from the Food and Drug Administration, the food industry and academia work cooperatively to analyze, test and study new approaches for assuring and improving the safety of the food supply. This neutral ground fosters a freer exchange of information, lowering the barriers between these sectors.

Illinois Institute of Technology is a private, Ph.D.-granting university with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. IIT is also the home of the Chicago Kent Law School, Stuart Graduate School of Business, and the Institute of Design in Chicago's Loop.

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