Volume : 2, Issue : 8, August - 2013

Whey – From Waste to Worth

Blessy B Mathew, T P Krishna Murthy

Abstract :

Whey is one of the two proteins in cow’s milk which is a by–product during the process of cow’s milk being turned into cheese. More than one quarter of the world’s whey and lactose products—1.1 million metric tons per year—is manufactured at some 200 whey plants throughout the United States. With an abundance of land and investments in research & development and technology, the U.S. whey industry is capable of unrestrained growth to meet consumer demand. A number of different techniques including ultrafiltration, crystallization, precipitation and reverse osmosis etc. are used to create whey products, but it is time consuming and very costly. There are as such no cheaper and feasible methods to extract whey protein after the thick whey is been extracted for various products. This paper deals with the classification, composition and significance of whey. It also throws some light on the existing methodologies