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Ask the Expert: Formulating with Whey Protein |
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Wednesday, 01 February 2006 11:21 |
Q:When formulating a product with whey protein, how do you know what kind of whey protein ingredient to use and what considerations need to be made during the formulation process?
A: Although there is not yet an FDA approved health claim for whey proteins as part of a healthy lifestyle, a great deal of research points out the benefits of whey proteins during and post-exercise. The most convenient way of consuming this valuable protein source during activity is in the form of a ready-to-drink beverage...
To understand what sort of whey protein ingredient to use in a beverage formulation one needs to first understand the product needs of the customer. Primarily, one needs to understand the serving size and the amount of protein that is to be provided in a serving. Next, the formulator must understand the desired physical attributes of the product. Is the product clear so as to be transparent or can some opacity or translucency be tolerated? What is the desired viscosity of the finished product; is it to be thin like water or a carbonated soft drink or is some mouthfeel and consistency (i.e. like a smoothie) the aim.
Additionally, the formulator needs to understand the distribution chain of the product; is it to be shelf stable or is refrigerated distribution an option? Finally, one needs to understand the desired processing and packaging parameters; is the product to be cold or hot filled; if hot filled is it processed by HTST, UHT, or retort; is it preserved or non-preserved; are there to be light sensitive vitamins in the formulation. When a formulator has the answers to some of these questions and the tens of others that can be asked one can begin to make some choices about the whey protein ingredient to employ.
As an overview, the main two ingredients used in the formulation of these products are 80-percent whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate. The main difference between these two ingredients, other then their protein levels, is that 80-percent whey protein concentrate contains a small amount of lactose and some milk fat, while whey protein isolate virtually contains none of either. As alluded to earlier, one attribute of almost all whey protein ingredients is that they are soluble over a wide pH range, so they are applicable to all forms of RTD beverages.
However, there are differences between whey protein ingredients based on how they are manufactured. For example, whey protein isolate manufactured by ion exchange technology does not contain all of the proteins present in the original whey stream, while that manufactured by membrane filtration does contain the complete protein complement. Some of these minor proteins have been shown to be important in digestive tract health and also display immunomodulatory characteristics. On the other hand, the material manufactured by ion exchange technology displays superior solution clarity and heat stability compared to that manufactured by filtration. However, there are specialty whey protein isolates manufactured by filtration that can offer comparable solution clarity and heat stability to those manufactured by ion exchange.
One common problem when using whey proteins in RTD beverages is that the proteins are somewhat heat sensitive and the temperatures at which these products are commonly processed and packaged typically exceeds their "textbook" denaturation temperatures. Once denatured the hydrophobic interiors of these proteins are exposed, and in order to return to their lowest energy state, they gravitate to the exposed hydrophobic parts of adjacent proteins, resulting in aggregation and precipitation and/or gelation. However, this is a time and concentration dependent phenomenon, products can be made with high (i.e. 7 to 9 percent) protein levels if the proper processing and packaging conditions are selected.
The Expert:
Dennis Vosen
Technical Director
Century Foods International
www.centuryfoods.com
Beverage World February 15, 2006
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