INSIDE THE DAIRY
Fresh WA milk is delivered to Brownes Dairy in 100,000L tankers several times a day from our farms in the South West.
The milk is pumped from the milk tankers into chilled silos which store the milk at 4c degrees while it waits to be turned into our delicious products. Learn all about what it takes to get the products ready for you below.
Standardisation
The first stage is the standardisation process. Our milk has to be standardised because it is a natural product, straight from our cows. This means that the fat composition of milk can vary by cow, farm and breed. Regional and seasonal factors can also impact the composition of milk.
We review the composition of all our milk when it is delivered, and standardise it so that our consumers know they will receive the same milk each time they purchase a Brownes Dairy milk product.
In standardisation, milk fat (also known as cream) is removed from the milk, and, depending on the product being produced, added back in at a defined and controlled percentage. Skim, HiLo and Full Cream milk all have different fat content.
Any surplus raw cream that is produced during this process is kept in a separate chilled tank before being pasteurised and used in Brownes Dairy cream products.
Homogenisation
Once our milk has been standardised, it is pumped at a rate of 25,000l per hour through a homogeniser.
The homogeniser forces the milk at high pressure through very small holes which break up the cream and evenly disperse it throughout the milk, so that it doesn’t rise to the top of the milk.
Homogenisation is an entirely physical process and nothing is added to the milk to ensure that homogenisation occurs.
Pasteurisation
In order for milk to be legally sold in WA it must undergo a procedure known as pasteurisation.
Pasteurisation involves heating the milk at a minimum of 72 degrees Celcius degrees for 15 seconds to eliminate any harmful bacteria, ensuring the milk is safe to drink. This process is also known as HTST (High Temperature Short Time).
Like homogenisation, pasteurisation is an entirely physical procedure achieved by heating the milk. Nothing is added or removed in the milk and the process does not impact the nutritional goodness of milk in any way.
Milk that is being turned into Brownes Dairy CHILL, is heated again up to a temperature of 127 degrees Celcius. Heating to this higher temperature gives the product a longer shelf life. This process is called ESL (Extended Shelf Life).
From dairy to fridge
Once the milk has been standardised, homogenised and pasteurised, it is stored in chilled tanks at 4 degrees Celcius, until it is ready to be packed by our filling machines into its packaging.
The packaged product is then sent to our huge storage chiller ready for collection.
Once our products have been delivered to our customers they are out of our hands and into your fridge!
