Milk degradation during processing and storage is mainly due to oxidation–reduction reactions. Electroreduction was proposed recently to modulate the redox potential of food such as milk. However, only one study was carried-out on milk with a hydrodynamic electroreduction cell, and this study concluded, according to its protocol, that 4 V was the best anode/cathode voltage difference. But, since electroreduction is an electromembrane process, energy consumption is a major concern. Optimization of milk electroreduction can be one of the ways for improving milk resistance to alteration. Our objectives in the present work were to (1) investigate the effect of low anode/cathode voltage differences on milk redox potential modulation during electroreduction, (2) optimize the process, and (3) compare storage of a low-voltage electroreduced milk with a non-electroreduced milk. It appeared from these results that electroreduction at anode/cathode voltage difference of 3 V was sufficient to ensure a significant decrease in redox potential and dissolved oxygen and allow an energy saving of 79% in comparison with a treatment at 4 V. It appeared also that oxygen is an important parameter to consider during storage of electroreduced milk. To our knowledge, this study is the first one to demonstrate that electroreduction process can be a technological and chemical free alternative to improve stability against oxidation with a low-energy consumption.

摘要: 在乳的加工和贮藏期间, 乳降解的主要原因是由氧化还原反应引起的。目前, 人们认为电解还原可以调节诸如奶类食品的氧化还原电位。然而, 仅有一项研究采用电解还原流体电池对乳进行过研究, 研究结果得出最佳的阳极/阴极电压差是4v。但是, 由于电解还原是一种电膜过程, 能量消耗是主要考虑的因素之一。因此, 乳的电解还原优化主要是改变乳的电阻。本文1)考察了电解还原过程中低电压差对乳的氧化还原电位的调节; 2)优化电解还原过程; 3)比较低电压差电解还原后的乳和非电解还原乳的贮藏稳定性。研究结果表明:当电解还原的电压差达到3V时, 就可以显著降低乳的氧化还原电位和溶解氧浓度, 与电压差为4V时相比可以节能79%。此外, 氧的浓度是电解还原乳在贮藏过程中需要考虑的另一个重要参数。因此, 电解还原技术是一种低能耗、无化学污染的保藏技术。