Characterization of the particles surface of dried dairy products

Abstract

During production or storage of dehydrated dairy products, milk constituents may undergo redistribution, resulting in heterogeneity between the surface and its interior. The main objective of this work was to map the surfaces of different dehydrated dairy products, with the combined use of Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It was intended to characterize the surfaces of the particles of interest in both instruments and to perform the mapping of these, within specific populations. The proposal to combine different techniques aimed, in addition to obtaining complementary data, to show that it is possible to advance in the research of dairy products when analyzing the particles under different analytical perspectives. All analyzes were carried out from industrialized products with lots, manufacture and validity dates monitored. From the spectroscopic profiles of the particles, it was possible to verify differences when the set of particles was analyzed, as well the target particles alone. It was possible to perform the characterization of the particles using different analytical techniques providing a data set that expands information about the particles of the dairy powders analyzed.