The amount of whey left over is correspondingly high in cheese-making countries. The US is in the lead with over 48m tonnes per year, followed by Brazil, Turkey and Russia with 5-7m tonnes.
Given these volumes, which have risen steadily over the years, dairies are faced with a major challenge, since disposing of whey is just as costly as converting it into powder.
Creating new products
Hydrosol said its new functional systems can turn whey into a wide range of new products. For example, rennet whey can be used as a basis for pudding desserts, drinks, fermented desserts and sour cream.
Acid whey can be used to make alternatives to yogurt.
“Acid whey is a special challenge for cheese producers, because processing it is technologically much more demanding than for rennet whey,” said Dr Dorotea Pein, innovation manager at Hydrosol.
“After intensive research and many application tests, we have succeeded in developing an ingredient complex that makes it possible to market acid whey profitably.”
“The fat content of the products can be adjusted either with normal milk fat in the form of cream, or with vegetable fat,” Pein said.
Adding color and flavor
Like yogurt, the whey alternatives can be mixed with various ingredients, such as flavorings and colors added at the beginning of the manufacturing process, or fruit preparations added before filling.
Hydrosol has an international network of 15 subsidiaries and is a part of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe, an international supplier of food and feed ingredients.