Determining the energy of activation for the formation of lactulose in heated milks

SUMMARY Time/temperature profiles were obtained for commercial ultra high temperature (UHT) and sterilized milk processing plants and for a pilot UHT plant operating under nine different conditions. Samples of milk from each process were analysed for lactulose by an enzymic method, yielding concentrations of lactulose of 4 to 118 mg/100 ml. The measured lactulose concentration could be derived from the corresponding time/temperature profile by assuming an Arrhenius relationship with an activation energy of 152 kJ mol-1, for the whole range of UHT and in-container processes examined.