Cheese whey and its utilization

Abstract

Annual whey production in the world is estimated to be 72 million tons, which means that about 200,000 tons of milk proteins and 1.2 million tons of lactose are transferred into whey annually. Even though many uses of whey and whey solids have been developed recently, only a little more than half of the available whey solids are utilized in human food and animal feed. Considering the magnitude of this problem and the nutritive value of whey solids, there is a need to develop new uses for whey and its derivatives to fully realize the benefits of this wasted resource. This can be achieved through development of new products which would utilize a significant amount of whey or whey solids, reformulating the existing products to incorporate whey and whey solids, and fractionation and modification of whey solids to diversify their functional properties. Such modifications would render whey solids as potential ingredients in many dairy and non-dairy processed foods. Several uses of whey proteins have been developed, which include production of softer cheeses, dairy spreads, chip dips, whipping creams, manufacture of certain bakery products, enrichment of infant foods, etc.