Dairy Powders Processing and Characterization

Milk and dairy products are naturally exposed to multiple microbiological, physical and biochemical degradations. Such products require one or more stabilization operations during processing and storing to ensure acceptable sanitary and sensory qualities to the consumer. Several stabilization treatments, such as drying, are commonly applied to dairy products. A successful drying operation requires an in-depth understanding of the physic-chemical changes that occur during the production and storage of dairy powders. Mastering these changes is mandatory to avoid dairy powder degradations, which mainly depend on water dynamics and thermodynamic characteristics of the produced powder. This chapter gives an overview of dairy powder production through the understanding of the powder production principals. A discussion of some essential powder characteristics will be provided. Finally, an overview of the production of camel milk powder will be provided and will be compared with that of cow milk powder.