Influence of seasonal variation and ultra high temperature processing on lipid profile and fat globule structure of Swedish cow milk.

To investigate the effects of seasonal variations and processing on cow milk fat, raw milk collected in six individual months and corresponding ultra high temperature (UHT) milk were analyzed. Similar seasonal variations in lipid classes and fatty acid composition were found in raw and UHT milk. Under commercial processing, lipid content was standardized to approximately 1.5% in UHT milk. Decreased diameter of fat droplets (around 1µm) and thinner globule membranes were observed, as revealed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The distribution of lipid classes was modified with a decreased proportion of triacylglycerol accompanied by the increase of phospholipids and free fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids C12:0 and C14:0, trans-fatty acids including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), polyunsaturated fatty acids C18:2(n-6) and C18:3(n-3), showed increased proportions in UHT milk. These results provide an indication of the effect of UHT processing on milk lipid properties.

Improved material properties of solution-cast starch films: Effect of varying amylopectin structure and amylose content of starch from genetically modified potatoes.

High-amylose potato starches were produced through genetic modification resulting in changed granule morphology and composition, with higher amylose content and increased chain length of amylopectin. The increased amylose content and structural changes in amylopectin enhanced film-forming behavior and improved barrier and tensile properties in starch films. The molecular structure in these starches was related to film-forming properties. Solution-cast films of high-amylose starch revealed a homogeneous structure with increasing surface roughness at higher amylose content, possibly due to amylose aggregation. Films exhibited significantly higher stress and strain at break compared with films of wild-type starch, which could be attributable to the longer chains of amylopectin being involved in the interconnected network and more interaction between chains, as shown using transmission electron microscopy. The oxygen permeability of high-amylose starch films was significantly decreased compared with wild-type starch. The nature of the modified starches makes them an interesting candidate for replacement of non-renewable oxygen and grease barrier polymers used today.