Extending freshness: evaluating ESL technology versus traditional pasteurization in milk processing

Abstract

Milk is a nutrient-rich food product but is highly perishable due to microbial contamination. Although conventional pasteurization effectively inactives pathogenic microorganisms, it has limitations in shelf life typically not exceeding 10 days and is susceptible to post-processing contamination. To overcome these limitations, Extended Shelf-Life (ESL) technology has been developed to significantly prolong milk's refrigerated shelf life while maintaining its fresh-like quality. This article compares conventional pasteurized milk with ESL-treated milk based on research published between 2010 to 2025, encompassing multiple aspects such as microbiological quality, shelf life, sensory attributes, nutritional value, production costs, and consumer acceptance. The findings reveal that ESL technology effectively reduces initial microbial load, enabling milk to be stored under refrigeration for 21–45 days without significant deterioration in taste or nutrition. Moreover, consumer studies indicate high satisfaction and growing acceptance of ESL milk products. Nevertheless, the primary challege associated with ESL technology is ensuring stringent hygienic and aseptic during packaging to prevent recontamination. Accordingly, this review highlights ESL technology as a straegie option for industrial dairy products to improve competitiveness, optimize cost efficiency, and effectively respond to the evolving expectations of contemporary consumers,. who increasingly value both convenience and product quality, Extended Shelf-Life (ESL) milk offers a longer storage duration compared to conventional pasteurized milk. This extended refrigeration period maintains sensory quality and safety, thereby reducing purchase frequency. Such characteristics are well aligned with the fast-paced lifestyles of urban consumers.