Heat treatment of milk is a major operation in the dairy industry and
has a substantial effect in milk quality. In this study a constrained
optimization method (COMPLEX) together with kinetics parameters of the
main reactions occurring in milk during heat treatment (lipase and pr
otease inactivation, thiamine and lysine destruction, hydroxymethylfur
fural and lactulose formation, and colour changes) were used to obtain
theoretically optimal time-temperature profiles of the heat treatment
of milk. By using this methodology different profiles were obtained w
hich may allow better storage stability with negligible effect on comp
osition or colour formation in milk.