SUMMARY
The object of research is raw milk used for the production of hard cheeses by milk processing enterprises of Ukraine. The quality of raw milk is especially important, a key factor determining the effectiveness of the milk processing industry. Without milk, which meets certain requirements, it is impossible to organize the production of high-quality products. Special requirements are placed on the quality of raw milk intended for the cheese production. One of the most problematic places is improving the quality and cheese suitability of raw milk and improving the technological process for the production of natural hard cheesesDuring the study, laboratory (biochemical and microbiological) research methods are used to determine the quality indicators of raw milk and finished products, as well as their microbial contamination. And for processing the results of the study, methods of mathematical statistics are used.The work shows that bacterial contamination of raw milk, which exceeds the normative limit values, poses a threat to both the technological process of cheese making and the quality of the finished product. Methods are proposed for preventing a decrease in the yield of cheese and deterioration in its quality due to prolonged storage of milk at low temperatures. It is proved that the best results are obtained with ultra-high-temperature processing of milk with an exposure of 2–4 s. And also, that high-temperature and, especially, ultra-high-temperature (UHT treatment) is a very effective way to destroy bacterial microflora and improve the quality of raw milk by such an indicator as a «pollution tank». This allows to increase the cheese ability of raw milk. High temperatures of heat treatment of milk lead to changes in the salt and protein composition of milk. These changes should have both negative consequences – a deterioration in the rennet coagulation of milk and the synergistic properties of the clot, and a positive result consisting in an increase in the transfer of milk solids, primarily whey proteins, to clot and cheese.