Production of Artificial Sausage Casings from Whey Proteins

Abstract

This research and product development work is a contribution to both the Dairy and Meat Industry. The work involved the production of artificial sausage casings from whey proteins. The main objective was to utilize whey, a by-product from cheese production and produce an edible film which can be utilized as an alternative sausage casing material. The work was based on the whey proteins film forming capabilities. The formation of whey protein-based films mainly involved heat denaturation in aqueous solution at 75 -100°C, which produced intermolecular disulfide bonds, which were responsible for film structure. A plasticizer was added to impart flexibility and extensibility of the edible polymeric film. Addition of a cross-linking agent was for the formation of chemical links between molecular chains to form a three-dimensional network of connected molecules. Harvesting of the edible films was done via the casting method.