The picture below shows a factory where humans are replaced by ‘monitoring points’; this undoubtedly reduces the risk of contamination, though the change is not as simple or problem-free as it sounds.
The commercial process typically includes 12 or more steps from pre-fermentation at the start, to packaging for transport and display in shops. Each extra step brings its own risks, and batch rejection is still a possible end result. Despite this, factory-produced yogurt remains a highly profitable business.
Priorities for commercial producers:
- Yield or amount of yogurt produced (profit)
- Taste
- Appearance eg. The absence of lumps
- Stability (Absence of deterioration)
(‘freshness’ is notably absent from the list…)