Classification of heat load applied to milk requires the detection of parameters appropriately related to
the intensity of the heat treatment. Current analytical methods based on heat-induced changes in the
protein component of milk have been directed either to determine the amount of protein-derived
products arised from heat treatments or to evaluate the extent of thermal denaturation of milk proteins.
Lately, a new analytical strategy has been developed according to the occurrence of three major
whey proteins, namely bovine serum albumin (BSA), beta-lactoglobulin (blg) and alfa-lactalbumin (ala),
normally soluble at pH 4.6 in raw milk, in the pH 4.6 insoluble protein fraction recovered from heattreated
milk. The results have shown that pH 4.6 insoluble BSA, blg and ala, as detected by ELISA in
milk, can be regarded as thermal markers suited for either dairy process control or regulation purposes.
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