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.