Effect of Production Method on Quality and Stability of Lactose-Free Butter

Lactose-free butter is rapidly gaining popularity on the domestic market. There are three methods of lactose-free butter production. However, their effect on shelf-life stability remains poorly understood. This article describes the sensory, physicochemical, and microbiological quality of lactose-free butter during storage. The research objective was to determine the optimal commercial production method. The butter was produced by high-fat cream conversion, cream churning in a continuous butter maker, and cream churning in a batch butter maker. The samples were divided into those with maximal permissible microbiological contamination or those with low total bacterial count. The optimal safety margin for total bacterial count was 2–3 orders of magnitude relative to the standard QMAFAnM for butter. The methods of high-fat cream conversion and churning in a continuous butter maker proved to be the most reliable variants for lactose-free butter because the closed process flow ensured the best sanitary conditions. The method of churning cream in batch-type butter makers cannot be recommended for lactose-free butter production due to the severe risk of microbial contamination during processing and storage.