Whey Powder, Demineralized Whey Powder and Delactosed Whey

The steady growth in global cheese production and consumption continues to be the main driving force fueling an increased supply of whey for further processing. The whey sector is being broadly viewed as two categories based on the protein content of the finally processed products, namely (i) highly concentrated, high value protein ingredients group (e.g., whey protein concentrates and isolates); and (ii) a lower concentrated protein group such as whey powders and demineralized whey powders. This latter group continues to be important to the formulation needs of infant milk formula producers which have expanded production over the past decade. Technological details for the manufacture of these ingredients and co-products are described in this article.