Influence of combination carboxymethylcellulose and pectin on the stability of acidified milk drinks

This project investigated the influence of the addition of high methoxyl pectin (HMP) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) with different combination ratios on the stability of acidified skim milk drinks (SAMD) and whole milk drinks (WAMD). The experimental results showed that with the addition of combination polysaccharides, the SAMDs were not stabilised after period of time, but the WAMDs showed a markedly reduced formation of serum phase. The presence of milk fat globule membranes (MFGM) aided the dispersion of casein micelles and prevented casein sedimentation and serum separation. The rheological properties of the unstable drinks in this study demonstrated severe shear-thinning behaviour and less frequency dependence, however, for the stable drinks, the opposite properties were observed. Drink stability improved when the amount of HMP increased in the polysaccharide ratio, highlighting the importance of the molecular properties of polysaccharides.