Arla Foods Ingredients’ Nutrilac helps turn acid whey from waste to value-added ingredient

By Elizabeth Crawford

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Acid whey Milk

Arla Foods Ingredients’ Nutrilac whey protein can help dairy manufacturers turn acid whey, a by-product of Greek yogurt and cream cheese production, from a hard-to-handle waste to a raw ingredient that can add value to a range of products. 

Roughly two-thirds of milk used to make Greek yogurt and more than half of the cream used to make cream cheese ends up as acid whey, which could damage the environment if disposed of improperly – creating sustainability issues for manufacturers, according to Arla.

But the company has solution.

“We dug into how you can transform this waste into raw material and use it in new formulations … with our Nutrilac proteins,”​ said Nikolaj Knudsen, an account manager for Arla.

He explained the solution uses protein derived from milk to convert acid whey into a range of dairy products, such as a high-protein yogurt-based drink that won an innovation award at IFT Food Expo last year. These products can be sold at a high margin with little else invested in research, development or marketing.

The latest concept created, tested and announced last month for Nutrilac is a high-protein, low-fat dip.

Simply by adding Nutrilac to acid whey, water and cream, companies can create a dip with “a very creamy sensation,”​ but with only 6% fat and 4% protein, said Kundsen.

Plus, he added, “dips are perfectly in line with the trend of on-the-go”​ because it is easy to pack and eat anywhere.

Nutrilac also can be used to boost the protein in Greek style smoothies up to 7%, enhance the taste and mouth feel of cream cheese while also reducing the creation of more acid whey, and can even be added to desserts, Kundsen said.

The company does not plan on stopping there, though, Kundsen said. “We are still looking for how we can create new concepts for the acid whey, which obviously, is still of high interest. We have always to be innovative and look into the trends and see how we can create concepts … the consumers are looking for,” he added. 

Related topics Ingredients Nutritionals Arla Foods

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1 comment

Arla foods ingredient's Nutrilac helps turn acid whey from waste...

Posted by Rozalin Kostov,

It will be less troublesome if the consumers
are educated to choose the much more health
beneficial and valuable genuine yogurt
insead of that creamy mess called Greek
yogurt. But at the situation with the acidic
whey by-product waste - Bravo Arla!

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