The role of water in bovine milk is more complicated than that of a background solvent. To understand the interaction between water and the constituents of milk, an extensive dielectric study of the γ-dispersion of raw bovine milk was carried out over the frequency range 0.1-50GHz and the interval of temperatures (10°C-42°C). Samples were provided by utilizing an extended donor pool. The results reveal that the temperature dependence of the characteristic relaxation times is described by the Arrhenius law. Furthermore, it conforms to a Meyer-Neldel compensation, whereby the pre-factor of the relaxation times is dependent on the activation energy. This entropy/enthalpy compensation is traced to the interaction between bulk water dynamic clusters and other milk constituents. A statistical correlation between the Somatic Cell Count, a traditional measure of milk quality, and the relaxation times is provided as well, opening new vistas for the industrial classification of milk.
Keywords: Bovine milk; Conductivity; Dielectric relaxation; Dielectric spectroscopy; Mastitis; Meyer-Neldel compensation; Somatic cell count; Water.
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