Additives used in dairy products

1 Preservatives. Generally, great efforts are taken to avoid preservatives in dairy products. Even so, preservatives have been and are being 

Smith (ed.), Technology of Reduced-Additive Foods Chapman Hall 1993 

Nitrate is used to a great extent as a preservative for the prevention of unwanted gas formation from coliforms and Clostridia. Nitrate acts as a hydrogen acceptor for coliforms as it is reduced to nitrite. Formation of gaseous hydrogen is thus prevented and this avoids early blowing of the cheese. Nitrite, in turn, inhibits the outgrowth of Clostridia bacteria and therefore late blowing of the cheeses is prevented. 

The addition of nitrate is becoming increasingly unpopular due to possible formation of carcinogenic nitrogen-containing compounds in the cheese. In the production of cheese spreads and other processed cheese products, the problem has been solved by the addition of nisin (an antimicrobial compound produced by certain strains of Lactococcus). 

2 Stabilisers and emulsifiers. Stabilisers and emulsifiers are widely used as additives in the production of certain dairy products. In products such as UHT milk, chocolate milk and ice cream, the use of stabilisers and emulsifiers is a technological necessity. 

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