Arla Foods Ingredients is demonstrating how acid whey can be transformed into a valuable raw material for high-protein dairy products with an ‘upcycled’ positioning.

The new ‘Upcycle Your Whey to Value’ concept offers a solution to a long-standing sustainability challenge for the dairy industry. Two thirds of the milk used in the production of Greek yoghurt and other strained fermented dairy products ends up as waste.

Disposing of acid whey, the main side-stream from the process, is both expensive and associated with environmental risk. However it is nutrient-rich and, with the right expertise, can be transformed into a nutritious ingredient, opening up new opportunities for innovative food and beverage products.

Now Arla Foods Ingredients has created three new ambient dairy concepts that demonstrate the potential of acid whey to be used in products with an ‘upcycled’ positioning:

• An 8% protein drinking yoghurt with pineapple / coconut flavours
• An 8% protein creamy dessert with pineapple / coconut flavours
• An 8% protein beverage with strawberry flavour.

In each of the recipes, acid whey, which accounts for between 50% and 73% of the full product, is combined with ingredients from the Nutrilac^® ProteinBoost range of patented microparticulated whey proteins.

As well as offering a mild dairy taste and smooth and creamy mouthfeel, the recipes are all suitable for processing on a standard dairy line, and offer good viscosity control and stability through shelf life.

The new concept is designed to help manufacturers meet a growing market need, with climate change and waste increasingly top of mind for dairy consumers. Over eight in ten are aware of sustainability issues in the category, and 20 percent are actively changing their behaviour when buying dairy products.¹

Claus Bukbjerg Andersen, Senior Dairy Category Manager at Arla Foods Ingredients, said: “The use of upcycled side-streams can help brands reduce waste and increase their appeal to climate-conscious consumers. Additionally, acid whey is nutrient-rich and in combination with the right ingredients can be used to create exciting new products that offer indulgence as well as nutritional value. Allowing all the goodness of milk to be kept in the food chain is good for the planet, good for consumers and good for manufacturers, who can position products as upcycled, in line with a growing dairy industry trend.”

Arla Foods Ingredients will showcase the ‘Upcycle Your Whey to Value’ concept at Gulfood Manufacturing in Dubai (November 5^th to 7^th). Exhibiting at Stand R-K3 in Shk Rashid Hall, it will also demonstrate how Nutrilac^® ProteinBoost can be used to overcome technical challenges in high-protein dairy production, and highlight solutions for high-protein cheese.

¹ New Nutrition Business, 10 Key Trends, 2023