ADPI sets first industry standards for whey proteins from milk

ADPI previously only set standards for the whey proteins that went into cheese making, according to Meyer.

“This covers all the whey proteins that don’t go through cheese making,”​ Meyer told DairyReporter.

To develop the standards, ADPI sends out a “task force”​ to develop and draft the standards that eventually goes in front of the a board of approximately 50 members for approval.

“We had a couple of members that were making native whey so we relied heavily on their input and used a lot of their data top help develop this standard,”​ he said.

Milk whey protein definition specifics

The new standard defines whey protein products that are obtained directly from milk as a dry finished product with no less than 25% protein. The whey protein must be obtained by microfiltration and/or chromatography of milk or skim milk combined with ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, evaporation, dialysis, or “any other safe and suitable process in which all or part of the lactose, minerals and moisture may be removed.”​

Products can not be produced through any process or combination of processes that include enzymatic coagulation of protein and/or acid precipitation of protein in bovine milk or skim milk, ADPI added.

Milk Whey Protein products with a protein content less than 89.5% protein are referred to as “Milk Whey Protein Concentrates” and milk whey protein products with a protein content equal to or greater than 89.5% should be referred to as “Milk Whey Protein Isolates”, according to the new standard.

ADPI hopes eventually the new guidelines on milk whey proteins will be globally adopted as a CODEX standard, according to Meyer.

"We hope that these industry standards set by ADPI will provide the industry and our customers with a better understanding of the function and makeup of the many nutritious dry dairy ingredients produced in the US, and become globally recognized terms of reference for these products,"​ ADPI CEO, David Thomas, said.