" />How Nuvonic Helped Reduce Microbial Risk and Eliminate Chlorine Taste in Dairy Production
Customer Overview
Dairy Plus Co. Ltd., a leading UHT dairy producer in Thailand, needed a more reliable way to disinfect process water while protecting the taste and quality of its dairy products. The facility used both city water and deep well water, treated with chlorine at multiple stages. However, this chlorine-based approach was not consistently delivering the microbial control required for high-quality dairy processing.
During the rainy season, incoming city water carried significantly higher microbial loads, reaching up to 20,000 cfu/ml. Even with chlorine dosing increased to 8 ppm, bacterial counts remained above acceptable levels. At the same time, chlorine was creating an unwanted after-taste in the final product, making it clear that Dairy Plus required a more effective, chlorine-free disinfection solution.
The Challenge
Dairy Plus needed to improve dairy process water treatment without compromising product quality. The existing chlorine system struggled to manage seasonal spikes in contamination and could not consistently reduce bacterial counts to the required level.
The main concerns were:
- High microbial contamination in incoming water, particularly during the rainy season.
- Inconsistent microbial control despite increased chlorine dosing.
- Chlorine-related after-taste affecting finished dairy products.
- The need to reduce maintenance, downtime and clean-in-place frequency. For a dairy processor, process water quality directly affects hygiene, product safety, taste and operational reliability. Dairy Plus required a non-chemical disinfection method that could provide reliable microbial inactivation without adding taste, odour or chemical residuals.
Client Goals
Dairy Plus wanted to achieve three key outcomes:
- Improve microbial reduction in process water, including effective control of E. coli and waterborne coliform bacteria.
- Reduce reliance on high-dose chlorine treatment and eliminate chlorine-related after-taste.
- Improve operational efficiency by reducing maintenance requirements, downtime and CIP frequency.
Why UV Disinfection Was Required
The plant’s mixed water sources created a complex treatment challenge. City water and deep well water had different treatment requirements, making it difficult to maintain consistent disinfection performance across the facility. Seasonal variation added further risk, particularly when city water quality declined during rainy periods.
Chlorine was not providing reliable microbial control under these changing conditions. Increasing the chlorine dose did not fully solve the contamination issue and introduced product quality concerns. For Dairy Plus, the ideal solution needed to support microbial control in dairy production while preserving the sensory quality of the final product.
UV disinfection was required because it provides chemical-free microbial inactivation. It treats water without adding chlorine, taste, odour or chemical residuals, making it well suited to food and beverage UV system applications, including dairy processing, CIP water disinfection and dairy mixing water.
The Nuvonic Solution
Nuvonic UV technology provided a medium-pressure UV disinfection solution to improve process water quality at the Dairy Plus facility. The system was designed for critical dairy applications where water quality directly affects product safety, hygiene and production reliability.
The installation included:
The UV systems were integrated into the existing water treatment process, allowing Dairy Plus to strengthen microbial control at key points without increasing chemical usage. This gave the plant a reliable, chlorine-free water disinfection solution for high-volume dairy process water treatment.
Results
Following installation, Dairy Plus achieved more reliable disinfection performance across key process water applications. The UV systems helped reduce microbial risk in the plant’s water supply while eliminating the chlorine after-taste that had previously affected product quality.
The solution also delivered operational benefits. Dairy Plus reported that the UV systems were running effectively and producing strong disinfection results. The client was particularly satisfied with the low maintenance requirements, high energy output and reduction in clean-in-place frequency.
Key results included:
- Improved microbial control in dairy process water.
- Elimination of chlorine-related taste issues.
- Reduced clean-in-place frequency.
- Lower maintenance requirements.
- Reduced downtime and improved plant efficiency.
Conclusion
Nuvonic’s UV technology helped Dairy Plus overcome the limitations of chlorine-based disinfection. Before UV, the client faced inconsistent microbial control, high seasonal contamination and chlorine-related taste concerns. After installation, Dairy Plus achieved more reliable water treatment, improved product quality and reduced operational disruption.
For dairy manufacturers facing similar challenges, UV disinfection offers a proven route to stronger microbial control, chlorine-free disinfection, improved product taste and more efficient food and beverage production.
*Nuvonic: formerly known as Aquionics, Berson, Hanovia and Orca GmbH
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