Potential of Nitrogen Gas (N(2)) Flushing to Extend the Shelf Life of Cold Stored Pasteurised Milk

For different reasons, the amount of food loss for developing and developed countries is approximately equivalent. Altogether, these losses represent approximately 1/3 of the global food production. Significant amounts of pasteurised milk are lost due to bad smell and unpleasant taste. Currently, even under the best cold chain conditions, psychrotolerant spore-forming bacteria, some of which also harbour virulent factors, limit the shelf life of pasteurised milk. N(2) gas-based flushing has recently been of interest for improving the quality of raw milk. Here, we evaluated the possibility of addressing bacterial growth in pasteurised milk during cold storage at 6 °C and 8 °C. Clearly, the treatments hindered bacterial growth, in a laboratory setting, when N(2)-treated milk were compared to the corresponding controls, which suggests that N(2)-flushing treatment constitutes a promising option to extend the shelf life of pasteurised milk.