One of the strategies to reduce fouling during heat treatment in the dairy industry is the modification of the surface properties of the stainless steel used in heat exchangers, in order to decrease its appetence for milk deposits. To evaluate the importance of such properties on the formation of mineral deposits, the calcium phosphate fouling process was studied using stainless steel surfaces modified by TiN sputtering. The present experiments were performed in the turbulent flow regime in a heat flow cell where the fouling thermal resistance was monitored. The deposition and removal parameters were compared in terms of the influence of surface energy components on the type of deposit formed. The dependence of the fouling phenomenon on the electron-donor component of the surface energy in the turbulent flow regime was found to be similar to the one determined by the authors for the laminar regime in previous work. The present work also showed the usefulness of such modified surfaces as part of an anti-fouling strategy since all of them, independently of their surface energy properties, retained less deposit than the normal stainless steel surfaces (316 2R) after cleaning with water. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.