Effect of Ozonation, UV light irradiation and pulsed electric field processes on reducing of Aflatoxin M1 and total Aflatoxin in Acidophilus milk

One of the most critical challenges facing dairy products is decreasing or eliminating of Aflatoxins, especially Aflatoxin M1. On the other hand, the production of probiotic dairy products is another aim of the dairy industry. Therefore, in this study, using pulse electric field technology in the range of 10 to 30 microseconds, ozonation in the range of 0 to 10 mg/min and ultraviolet radiation in the range of 0 to 5 J/cm2 in acidophilus milk attempted to obtain a probiotic-free aflatoxin product. To investigate the impact of the applied the mentioned processes, a central response method (RSM) was used in the full quadratic model so that these processes were considered as operational variables. For this purpose, the central composite design with three independent variables, including pulsed electric field, ozonation and UV irradiation to complete quadratic form has been used. The results showed a significant effect of independent variables and their synergistic effect at 0.05 levels on the reduction of aflatoxin in acidophilus milk. The best-operating conditions based on the lowest amount of aflatoxin in acidophilus milk consisted of 13.15-microsecond pulses in the electric field, 9.99 mg/min of ozone, and 4.99 J/cm2 of UV waves. In optimum conditions, pH 6.22, Acidity 19.76 (Dornic), dry matter 10.69%, total color change 8.13, and overall acceptance score 4.77 were obtained. Finally, in optimum condition, 84.61% and 86.76% of aflatoxin M1 and total aflatoxins were reduced, and the final product contained 5.2×106 cfu/g Lactobacillus acidophilus, respectively.