Milk, sunlight flavor

Patton, S. 1954. The mechanism of sunlight flavor formation in milk with special reference to methionine and riboflavin. J. Dairy Sci. 37, 446-452. 

Bassette and Keeney (1960) ascribed the cereal-type flavor in dry skim milk to a homologous series of saturated aldehydes resulting from lipid oxidation in conjunction with products of the browning reaction. The results of Parks and Patton (1961) suggest that saturated and unsaturated aldehydes at levels near threshold may impart an off-flavor suggestive of staleness in dry whole milk. Wishner and Keeney (1963) concluded from studies on milk exposed to sunlight that C6 to Cn alk-2-enals are important contributors to the oxidized flavor in this product. Parks et al. (1963) concluded, as a result of quantitative carbonyl analysis and flavor studies, that alk-2-4-dienals, especially... 

Creamy flavors in butter have been associated with 4-cis heptenal produced for autoxidation of isolinoleic acid (Begeman and Koster, 1964). Drier flavor in foam spray-dried milk has been associated with 6-rra x-nonenal, which has a flavor threshold in fresh milk of 0.07 pg/kg (Parks et al., 1969). Bassette and Keeney (1960) implicated a homologous series of autoxidation-derived saturated aldehydes, together with products of Maillard browning, in cereal-type off-flavors in powdered skim milk. Staleness in dry whole milk may be associated with saturated and unsaturated aldehydes (Parks and Patton, 1961). 2,4-Decadienal has been reported to be the principal compound responsible for the off-flavor associated with spontaneously oxidized milk (Parks et al., 1963). Oxidized flavors in sunlight-exposed milk are commonly related to C6 to Cn alk-2-enals... 

Light-induced oxidation of proteins has been shown to lead to off-flavors and destruction of essential amino acids in milk. Patton (1954) demonstrated that sunlight attacks methionine and converts it into methional (( -methylmercaptopropionaldehyde), which can cause a typical sunlight off-flavor at a level of 0.1 ppm. It was later demonstrated by Finley and Shipe (1971) that the source of the light-induced off-flavor in milk resides in a low-density lipoprotein fraction. 

Use proper containers to protect milk from exposure to sunlight, bright daylight, and strong fluorescent light to prevent the development of off-flavor and a reduction in riboflavin, ascorbic acid, and vitamin B-6 content. 

---