Abstract
Although milk is pasteurized before we handle it as food for infants, it is desirable to heat it for the reasons of sanitation and food allergy. In cases where milk is heated in an open pan the scum forms on the surface of the milk. In many cases, it is removed before the milk is drank. To determine the loss of nutrients resulting from discarding the scum, chemical analysis of scum of heated cow's milk was made. The amounts of nutrients in the scum are as follows : Total protein-2.84. 0%, average 3.3% ; fat-2.23.7%, average 3.0% ; calcium-2.24.1%, average 3.0%; vitamin A-3.03.9%, average 3.5%; thiamin-1.21.9%, average 1.5%; riboflavin-1.01.8%, average 1.3%.
The above figures indicate that nutrient losses by discarding the scum are so small that they are almost negligible.