DAIRY PRODUCTS

Consumers use dairy and milk-based products everyday. Consumers add milk to coffee, tea and cereals to add a creamy taste and texture. Dairy products are usually processed which changes it’s properties. Butter is made by churning milk or cream, Yoghurt is made by adding bacteria and heat to milk to give it that tangy taste and thick texture, ice-cream is made by adding sugar, eggs and other ingredients to milk before being frozen. All of these processes change the way milk appears.

The colour of any dairy product influences a consumers perception about the product and affects their decision to purchase. Consumers are always looking at the consistency, reliability and quality of their purchases; this is especially true for dairy products including milk, yoghurt, cream, butter, ice-cream and flavoured milk. Consumers eat with their eyes and it’s important to ensure that they are purchasing goods that appear appetizing and consistent.

The colour of a dairy products changes during the processing stage. When churning butter, the cream starts at a white colour and becomes more and more yellow during production. When producing flavoured milk, the perfect amount of flavouring and colourant needs to be added to create consistent looking products from batch to batch. All stages of milk product can be managed with colour, from the cow to the shelf.

Colour measurement assists dairy product producers in the following ways:

• Measure the colour of milk before production.
• Measure the colour during production to ensure quality and consistency.
• Measure the colour of different flavoured milk, yoghurt and ice-cream.
• Indicate when a milk is starting to go off by measuring the change in colour
• Identify when adulterants have been added.
• Measure all forms of milk including powders
• Measure no-dairy equivalent products like almond milk
• Manage the visual quality of dairy products