Formation of Aldehyde and Ketone Compounds during Production and Storage of Milk Powder

Certain aldehyde and ketone compounds can be used as indicators, at a molecular level, of the oxidized flavor of milk powder instead of sensory evaluation. This study investigated the formation of aldehyde and ketone compounds as affected by the heat-related processing and storage of milk powder. The compounds were extracted by solid phase microextraction fiber and determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In the results, higher contents of hexanal, 2-heptanone, octanal and 3-octen-2-one were detected in concentrated milk and fresh milk powders than in raw milk and heated milk. The levels of these compounds increased with increasing time of storage of milk powder. Meanwhile, the DPPH radical scavenging activity decreased and peroxide value increased during the production and storage of milk powder. In addition, the pore volume distribution of milk powder particle was determined by nitrogen isotherm adsorption. The porosity of milk powder was significantly correlated to the changes of aldehyde and ketone compounds during storages periods of 3 months (r > 0.689, p < 0.05) and 6 months (r > 0.806, p < 0.01). Therefore attention should be paid to the detectable aldehyde and ketone molecules to control the oxidized flavor, which was influenced by pre-heating as well as concentration and drying during milk powder production.