Impact of Incorporating Free Calcium and Magnesium on the Heat Stability of a Dairy- and Soy-Protein-Containing Model Emulsion

This study investigated the impact of calcium chloride (CaCl2) and magnesium chloride (MgCl2) at varying concentrations on a model milk formulation’s physical and chemical properties after thermal treatment. The model milk was subjected to two-stage homogenization and pasteurization before being supplemented with different concentrations of CaCl2 or MgCl2. The findings revealed that elevating the concentration of either calcium or magnesium resulted in the milk emulsion having a higher viscosity and median particle size following heating. CaCl2 had a slightly stronger impact than MgCl2, particularly at higher concentrations. The milk samples also exhibited a reduction in the zeta potential as the ionic strength of the salt solution increased, with the CaCl2-fortified milk displaying a slightly lower negative surface charge than the MgCl2-fortified milk at the same dose. The model milk’s viscosity was evaluated after adding various salt concentrations and a temperature ramp from 20 to 80 °C. Notably, the viscosity and particle size changes demonstrated a non-linear relationship with increasing mineral levels, where a significant increase was observed at or above 5.0 mM. An emulsion stability analysis also revealed that the de-stabilization pattern of the high salt concentration sample differed significantly from its low salt concentration counterparts. These findings could serve as a basis for the future development of fortified UHT milk with nutritionally beneficial calcium and magnesium in industrial applications.