Nutritional and Functional Characteristics of Whey Proteins in Food Products

Whey proteins are well known for their high nutritional value and versatile functional properties in food products. Estimates of the worldwide production of whey indicate that about 700,000 tonnes of true whey proteins are available as valuable food ingredients. Nutritional and functional characteristics of whey proteins are related to the structure and biological functions of these proteins. During recent decades, interest has grown in the nutritional efficacy of whey proteins in infant formula and in dietetic and health foods, using either native or predigested proteins. This paper focuses attention on the differences and similarities in composition of human and bovine milks with reference to infant formula. More desirable milk protein composition for consumption by humans is obtained by the addition of lactoferrin and more specific fractionations of proteins from bovine milk. Optimization of heating processes is important to minimize the destruction of milk components during fractionation and preservation processes. Some functional characteristics of whey proteins are discussed in relation to their properties for application in food products. Information obtained from functional characterization tests in model systems is more suitable to explain retroactively protein behavior in complex food systems than to predict functionality.