Background

Thermal processing is the most common decontamination method used in the dairy industry to ensure food safety and extend shelf life. However, due to the increased consumer demand for more natural and healthier products, nonthermal technologies have been intensively studied. Irradiation with shortwave ultraviolet light (UV-C) offers some technological advantages due to its low maintenance and installation costs, minimal energy use, and food preservation without some undesirable effects of heat treatments. Scope and approach: This review aims to describe the theoretical fundamentals of UV-C radiation and approaching the critical processing factors involved. Also, it describes the mechanisms of microbial inactivation and provides an overview of the effects on dairy product quality, considering microbiological, physicochemical and sensory aspects.

Key findings and conclusions

UV-C radiation can be considered an effective method for inactivating pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms in milk and dairy products by forming lesions in DNA and/or damage in the cellular enzyme activity and cytoplasmatic membrane integrity. The efficiency of the process is dependent on the process parameters (time of exposure, UV dose, wavelength and UV light source), product type (chemical composition, viscosity, turbidity, opacity and roughness), equipment (conformation and geometry), and microorganism characteristics (specie, strain, initial count, growth phase, and recovery conditions). When optimum conditions are applied, there is no impact on the physicochemical, nutritional and sensory aspects. In conclusion, UV-C can be considered an environmental-friendly emergent non-thermal technology for decontamination of dairy products, presenting low costs and efficiency in the maintenance of the quality parameters of dairy products.

中文翻译：

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紫外线辐射：一种有趣的技术，可以保持牛奶和奶制品的质量和安全性

背景

为了确保食品安全并延长保质期，热处理是乳业最常用的去污方法。然而，由于消费者对更天然和更健康产品的需求增加，已经对非热技术进行了深入研究。短波紫外线（UV-C）的辐射具有较低的维护和安装成本，极少的能源消耗以及食品保存而没有热处理的某些不良影响，因此具有一些技术优势。范围和方法：本综述旨在描述UV-C辐射的理论基础，并探讨所涉及的关键加工因素。此外，它还描述了微生物失活的机理，并从微生物学，理化和感官方面对乳制品质量产生了影响。

主要发现和结论

通过在DNA中形成损伤和/或破坏细胞酶活性和细胞质膜完整性，可以将UV-C辐射视为灭活奶和奶制品中病原性和变质微生物的有效方法。工艺的效率取决于工艺参数（曝光时间，紫外线剂量，波​​长和紫外线光源），产品类型（化学成分，粘度，浊度，不透明性和粗糙度），设备（形态和几何形状）以及微生物特性（物种，菌株，初始数量，生长期和恢复条件）。当应用最佳条件时，不会对物理化学，营养和感觉方面产生影响。总而言之，UV-C可以被视为一种环境友好的新兴非热技术，用于乳制品的去污，