Changes in the mineral balance of milk submitted to technological treatments

The importance of the salt content and its distribution on the technologica l properties of milk is well known. In particular, the mineral balance betw een the colloidal and diffusible phases is decisive in the cheesemaking pro cess. Although changes in the mineral balance produced by heating or cold s torage have been widely studied, new developments have occurred in the past few years. In addition, new technological treatments have been developed, such as the preservation of milks at low temperature in a CO2 atmosphere or the use of high pressure. All these treatments modify the distribution of salts and change the properties of the milk. This article reviews the effec ts of the different treatments on the mineral balance and discusses their t echnological implications. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserv ed.