Innovative Uses of Milk Protein Concentrates in Product Development

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Innovative Uses of Milk Protein
Concentrates in Product Development
Shantanu Agarwal, Robert L. W. Beausire, Sonia Patel, and Hasmukh Patel
Abstract: Milk protein concentrates (MPCs) are complete dairy proteins (containing both caseins and whey proteins)
that are available in protein concentrations ranging from 42% to 85%. As the protein content of MPCs increases, the lactose
levels decrease. MPCs are produced by ultrafiltration or by blending different dairy ingredients. Although ultrafiltration
is the preferred method for producing MPCs, they also can be produced by precipitating the proteins out of milk or
by dry-blending the milk proteins with other milk components. MPCs are used for their nutritional and functional
properties. For example, MPC is high in protein content and averages approximately 365 kcal/100 g. Higher-protein
MPCs provide protein enhancement and a clean dairy flavor without adding significant amounts of lactose to food
and beverage formulations. MPCs also contribute valuable minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, to
formulations, which may reduce the need for additional sources of these minerals. MPCs are multifunctional ingredients
and provide benefits, such as water binding, gelling, foaming, emulsification, and heat stability. This article will review
the development of MPCs and milk protein isolates including their composition, production, development, functional
benefits, and ongoing research. The nutritional and functional attributes of MPCs are discussed in some detail in relation
to their application as ingredients in major food categories.
Keywords: milk proteins, milk protein concentrate, milk protein isolate, food application, functional properties
Introduction
Milk protein concentrates (MPCs) and milk protein isolates
(MPIs) are milk ingredients that contain high-quality proteins
from milk (International Dairy Federation 1994). These protein
ingredients, usually sold as dry powders, offer the global food and
beverage industry versatile protein ingredients with excellent fla-
vor, functionality, and nutritional properties (Mulvihill and Ennis
2003). The growth and development of the whey industry demon-
strates the myriad of potential ingredients that can be developed
and produced as separation technologies develop, such as ultra-
filtration (UF), diafiltration (DF), and microfiltration (Novak and
others 1992; Zydney 1998; Maubois 2002). These technologies
are increasingly being applied to skim milk. From a small base in
New Zealand and the European Union, a global business in MPCs
and MPIs has now developed (Lagrange 2012). Initially, concen-
trating milk proteins was a means of moving milk solids across
international borders at favorable tariff rates. This, however, has
now evolved with MPCs finding use in the manufacture of process
MS 20141614 Submitted 9/26/2014, Accepted 1/14/2015. Author Agarwal is
with Dairy Management Inc., 10255 West Higgins Road, Suite 900, Rosemont,
IL 60018-5616, U.S.A. Author Beausire is with KaiNutra LLC, 6617 Apache
Ct., Niwot, CO 80503, U.S.A. Author S. Patel is with Inst. for Dairy Ingredi-
ent Processing, Dairy Science Dept., College of Agricultural and Biological Sciences,
P.O. Box 2104, Alfred Dairy Science 324, SDSU Brookings, SD 57007, U.S.A.
Author H. Patel is with Dept. of Food and Dairy Science, South Dakota State
Univ., Brookings, SD 57007, U.S.A. Direct inquiries to author Patel (E-mail: Has-
mukh.P[email protected]).
Author disclosures: S.A. works for Dairy Management Inc. and is responsible
for managing dairy ingredient research at National Dairy Foods Research Cen-
ters. R.L.W.B. is president of an independent consulting company, KaiNutra
LLC, which provides market development services for a number of ingredient
companies. He is remunerated for his participation by Dairy Management Inc.
cheese, cream cheese, natural cheese, ice cream, yogurt/fermented
dairy products, and nutritional and meal replacement beverages
(Lagrange 2012). The number of producers has grown as well as
the volume and sophistication in trade and applications. MPCs are
now developing into their own niche as providers of high-quality
and versatile proteins for numerous applications. This paper out-
lines the key attributes and applications of these proteins in food
systems listed with increasing complexity.
MPCs
MPCs are the complete dairy protein complexes that contain
both casein and whey proteins in the same ratio as milk. These
proteins are in their native state; that is, the caseins are still in a
form that strongly resembles the initial casein micelles in milk and
the whey proteins are largely undenatured, assuming that the heat
load is kept to a minimum during processing (Martin and others
2010). When compared to skim milk powder (SMP) or whole
milk powder (WMP), MPCs are higher in protein and lower
in lactose (Novak 1996; Mulvihill and Ennis 2003). Thus, they
provide a concentrated source of protein for nutritional value and
sensory and functional properties in final applications (Mulvihill
and Ennis 2003).
New technologies are often required to develop novel ingredi-
ents. Separation technologies provide the basis for adding value to
milk by delivering protein ingredients that meet specific functional
and nutritional needs that are not achievable with other standard
milk powders in food formulations (Huffman and Harper 1999).
MPCs are generally manufactured by UF processes that removes
the majority of lactose and soluble minerals and retains the milk
protein, followed with spray-drying (Novak 1996). Although UF
is the preferred method for procuring MPCs (Novak 1996), alter-
native methods include precipitation of proteins or dry-blending
C2015 Institute of Food Technologists R
doi: 10.1111/1750-3841.12807 Vol. 80, S1, 2015 rJournal of Food Science A23
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Table 1–Composition of common MPC ingredients.
MPC MPC MPC MPC MPC
NFDM 42 56 70 80 85 MPI
Protein(dry basis) 35% 42% 56% 70% 80% 85% 90%
Lactose 53% 46% 31% 16% 6% 4% 1%
Ash 4% 6%7%7%7%7%6%
Fat 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
Source: Smith (2014) and commercial specifications.
the milk proteins with other milk components (Mulvihill and Fox
1992).
MPC Types and Composition
At present, there is no standard of identity for MPCs in the
United States. Additionally, there are no available compositional
standards (such as minimum or maximum standards for protein
content) for MPCs in many other countries around the world
including the United States. This allows some flexibility and op-
portunities for manufacturing MPCs with different compositions
to meet different product formulation needs. The American Dairy
Products Institute and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, filed a
Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) notification for MPCs and
MPIs in 2012 for use as food ingredients for functional or nu-
tritional purposes in multiple food applications, except for infant
formula. The Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged
the MPC and MPI GRAS notification and does not appear to
have any objections and, therefore, has opened the notification for
public comments (GRAS Notice No. GRN 000504).
The protein content of MPCs is manufactured to range from
42% to 85%. The most common MPC products are MPC-42,
MPC-70, MPC-80, and MPC-85, which, as the name implies,
contain 42%, 70%, 80%, and 85% protein, respectively. MPC is
typically made from skim milk resulting in fat levels of less than 3%.
The composition of MPC with different protein concentrations
and MPI is shown in Table 1. It is clear that, compared with nonfat
dry milk (NFDM), MPCs are rich in protein and depleted of
lactose, with ash, fat, and moisture contents reasonably consistent
over the varying range of protein content.
Production of MPCs and MPIs
A typical process for the production of MPC involves starting
with skim milk as the base material. The first treatment of the
skim milk is usually a legal pasteurization step in order to meet
the regulatory requirements to inactivate any potential pathogens,
as well as enzymes. The milk is then concentrated by UF. During
the UF step, caseins, whey proteins, micellar salts, and residual fat
are concentrated in the retentate, whereas a portion of lactose,
soluble salts, and nonprotein nitrogen are removed with the per-
meate (Green and others 1984; Babella 1989; Bastian and others
1991). For high-protein MPCs, such as MPC85, UF alone may
not be sufficient to achieve the required protein-to-solids ratio in
the retentate and, therefore, DF is commonly applied (Getler and
others 1997; Singh 2007). The maximum protein content achiev-
able is limited by the presence of residual fat, as well as by the
retention of micellar calcium phosphate (Kelly 2011). Once the
desired protein to solids ratio has been achieved, the UF retentate
is evaporated and spray-dried. UF retentate, compared with skim
milk concentrate, is dried at lower solids level due to significant
increases in viscosity that is driven by higher protein concentra-
tion in the UF. The feed to the spray-drier commonly has a solids
content of about 50% for skim milk concentrate and about 30%
for MPC70. The solids of liquid concentrate will be even lower
for MPCs with increased protein content.
During the manufacture of MPCs the protein content of skim
milk is concentrated and the lactose is filtered out using membrane
filtration. For example, NFDM contains about 34% to 36% protein
and 52% lactose, whereas MPC42 contains 42% protein and 46%
lactose and MPC80 contains 80% protein and 5% to 6% lactose
(Smith 2014). MPCs with even higher protein content are also
available, and are generally known as MPIs with more than 90%
protein (generally in the range of 90% to 91% protein; Smith
2014).
MPC Research
Some research areas regarding the functional properties of MPCs
include solubility, heat stability, water binding capacity, and vis-
cosity (Singh 2012). Generally, MPC retain solubility for about 6
to 8 mo especially when stored at ambient to cool temperatures
(4 °Cto20°C) and low humidity. Solubility of higher protein
MPCs, however, can be severely impacted (De Castro-Morel and
Harper 2002; Sikand and others 2011) by processing (Lucey 2012;
Sikand and others 2012) when stored at temperatures above 40 °C
(Mistry and Pulgar 1996; Mistry 2002; Anema and others 2006;
Fang and others 2011) and at high moisture content and wa-
ter activity (Baldwin and Truong 2007). Since the dissolution of
powdered milk proteins is necessary for the expression of their
functional properties, the solubility of MPC is regarded as a criti-
cal property by the manufacturers and end users of MPC. Hence,
maintaining solubility of MPC has been the main focus of re-
searchers and food scientists.
Some of the key mechanisms for loss of solubility in high protein
MPCs reported in literature include (a) excessive protein–protein
interactions on the surface of the powder particle (Anema and
others 2006; Havea 2006) and (b) protein conformational modi-
fications and water–protein interactions (Haque et al. 2010). It is
important to note that divalent cataions, such as calcium, can form
a bridge between different caseins and hinder protein rehydration
(Bhaskar and others 2005; Marella and others 2013a; Sikand and
others 2013). Reducing the calcium content or changing the min-
eral profile of MPCs tends to maintain solubility of MPCs (Bhaskar
and others 2007; Marella and others 2013b; Sikand and others
2013; Li and Corredig 2014). There are different approaches to
produce reduced calcium MPCs including ion exchange of cal-
cium with sodium or potassium salts and filtration/DF of acidified
milk (Bhaskar and others 2007; Mao and others 2012; Marella and
others 2013b).
Researchers and MPC manufacturers continue to explore new
ways to increase the functional performance of MPCs and create
differentiated MPCs that have unique applications. Some other
additional areas of research include heat stability, water binding,
and viscosity. Researchers are using different tools, such as heat,
pH, enzymes, and mineral concentration, to manage interactions
between caseins and whey protein to change functional properties,
such as gelation, water binding capacity, and viscosity of MPCs
(Horak and others 2014). These modifications allow MPCs to be
used in applications, such as beverages, yogurt, cheeses, sauces, and
puddings.
Attributes and Benefits of MPCs
MPCs are ideal ingredients for a wide range of applications, due
to their concentrated source of protein, excellent functionality,
and clean dairy flavor. Benefits of the nutritional profile of MPCs
include concentrated source of protein, that easily attains high ileal
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Application of milk protein concentrates . . .
Table 2–Mean true ileal digestibility of essential amino acids for
dairy and soy protein.
Whey protein Milk protein Soy protein
Amino acid concentrate concentrate concentrate
Lysine 98.2 98.3 97.3
Methionine 100.0 100.0 95.3
Cysteine 99.6 97.8 86.9
Isoleucine 98.1 94.9 96.4
Leucine 99.1 98.9 95.7
Adapted from: Rutherfurd and Moughan (1997).
digestibility of selected essential amino acids (Table 2; Rutherfurd
and Moughan 1997) and high protein-quality ranking (Table 3;
Sarwar 1997). MPCs like skim milk offer a combination of slow-
acting protein, such as casein, and fast-acting protein, such as
whey, providing sustained amino acids, making them ideal for
various nutritional products (McGregor and Poppitt 2013).
Many patents have been filed by major food companies, uni-
versities, and research organizations on processing and applications
of MPC in various products, including processed cheese, cream
cheese, natural cheese, ice cream, and beverages (Bhaskar and oth-
ers 2001, 2005; Carr 2002). The many applications driving global
demand for MPC are summarized in Figure 1. The growth in these
applications has developed because of increasing availability, few
regulations to impede MPC use, its favorable tariff classifications,
and flexibility concerning labeling. A focus of the dairy industry
has also been quality and shelf-life of the ingredients, including
further development of ingredients to meet application-specific
requirements.
An analysis of new product launches that contain MPC and MPI
provides insight to the industry on the increasing uses of these in-
gredients. Figure 1 shows the number of global product launches
of products containing MPI and MPC within their ingredient la-
bels (Innova 2015). As expected, the most activity for MPC has
been in the yogurt and cheese categories an area in which products
benefit from the addition of dairy solids and proteins to improve
functionality and texture and can utilize the lower protein MPCs
(MPCs 70% and below) without increasing the lactose levels. MPI
usage is more focused where specific nutritional benefits are de-
sired, such as sports performance, nutrition supplements and bars,
and medical foods, where the constraints of the formulations can
benefit from very low lactose levels and extremely high protein
levels.
There are specific benefits or functional properties of MPC
(Jimenez-Flores and Kosikowski 1986) which attract product
developer to use MPC in their formulations and applications
(Table 4). Some of these benefits are:
(i) Nutrition: The demand for exciting new food products in
global consumer markets is driving the development of new
products at an everincreasing pace (Innova 2015). MPCs are
used in these new products for their nutritional and functional
properties. They are high in protein content and have ap-
proximately 360 kcal/100 g. MPCs also contribute valuable
minerals like calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus to formu-
lations, which may reduce the need for additional fortifica-
tion. MPCs are now widely used in many protein-fortified
foods, but primarily in meal replacements, nutritional bever-
ages, and bars (Harper 2009). High-protein MPC is used for
its nutritional qualities in pediatric nutrition, medical nutri-
tion (enteral foods), weight management products, geriatric
Table 3–Protein quality ranking.
Protein Net Protein
Protein efficiency Biological protein digestibility corrected
type ratio value utilization amino acids score
Casein 2.5 77 76 1.00
Whey protein 3.2 104 92 1.00
Milk protein 2.5 91 82 1.00
Soy protein 2.2 74 61 1.00
Egg 3.9 100 94 1.00
Beef 2.9 80 73 0.92
Black beans 0 - 0 0.75
Peanuts 1.8 - - 0.52
Wheat gluten 0.8 64 67 0.25
Adapted from: U.S. Dairy Export Council. (1999). Reference manual for U.S. whey
products. 2nd ed. and Sarwar (1997).
nutrition, powdered dietary supplements, and sports nutrition
products (Moughan 2009). It is common to find both MPC
and whey protein ingredients used alone or in combination
with other proteins in these applications.
(ii) High-protein/low-lactose products: The demand for
high-protein and low-lactose beverages and foods has been
increasing rapidly in recent years. MPCs with higher protein
content can be used to enhance the protein content of foods
and beverages by imparting a clean dairy flavor without adding
significant levels of lactose and allowing food and beverage for-
mulators to develop lactose-free products, avoid product de-
fects, such as browning due to Maillard reaction and sandiness
due to lactose crystallization. Therefore, high-protein MPCs
are finding application in low-lactose, high-protein products,
such as Greek style yogurts, process cheese, meal replacement
beverages, and nutritional bars. MPC can also be used to in-
crease the protein content of ice cream without increasing its
lactose content (Patel and others 2006).
(iii) Excellent functional properties: MPCs are also highly
functional ingredients. Incorporation of MPC in food and
beverage formulations can provide a range of benefits, such as
water binding, viscosity, gelling, foaming/ whipping, emulsi-
fication, and heat stability (Ye 2011; Huppertz and Patel 2012).
In addition, MPCs in formulations can provide opacity and a
pleasant milk flavor profile. Considering their excellent func-
tional properties, MPC may be suitable for many applications
in the food industry (Table 4).
Applications
Some key applications of MPCs and MPIs are discussed further
to explain benefits and challenges in using these ingredients in
various applications.
Milk replacement
MPC can be used as a replacer for WMP and SMP on an
equivalent protein or milk solids nonfat basis, helping to formulate
products with higher protein and low lactose and similar mineral
profile as milk. Lactose-free fermented milks can also be produced
using MPC (Szigeti and others 2006).
Cheese milk and processed cheese
MPCs have been used to standardize milk to make cheese with-
out a nonstandard of identity, such as pizza cheese or certain
Mexican-style cheeses. Researchers have also studied use of MPC
in manufacture of mozzarella (Harvey 2006; Francolino and oth-
ers 2010), feta (Kuo and Harper 2003; Harvey 2006), Gouda
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Application of milk protein concentrates . . .
Table 4–Key applications of milk protein concentrate.
Product category Functional properties Key benefits
Performance and nutritional beverages, meal
replacement beverages
Heat stability, flavor, color Protein, low/no lactose, flavor
Yogurt/ fermented dairy products Gelation, water binding, viscosity, thickening Texture, protein, stability
Desserts, baked goods, toppings, low-fat spreads,
dairy-based dry mixes
Gelation, water binding, viscosity, emulsification,
thickening, foaming and whipping
Flavor, emulsification, foaming,
Soups, sauces, salad dressing Emulsification, water binding, thickening and
viscosity
Emulsification, flavor, protein fortification
Geriatric nutrition, medical and clinical nutrition
products
Viscosity, heat stability Protein, flavor, low/no lactose, opacity
Ice cream/frozen desserts Foaming and whipping, viscosity, water binding,
emulsification
Protein, emulsification, stability
Follow-up formula, Growing-up milks Heat stability, flavor and color Protein, flavor
Low-lactose products and beverages Heat stability, flavor and color Protein, low/no lactose, opacity, flavor
Cheese: Processed, cream and fresh Gelation, emulsification Milk solids, emulsification, texture
Nutrition bars Water binding, foaming and whipping Protein, Texture
SMP and NFDM replacement in various food
formulations
Water binding, thickening, viscosity,
emulsification, color and flavor
Milk solids alternative, reduced lactose
Standardization of protein content in cheese milk,
cheese milk extension
Gelation Protein, Yield, Consistency
Weight management food and beverages Heat stability, water binding viscosity and flavor Protein, flavor
(Mistry and Pulgar 1996), and Cheddar cheeses (Rehman and
others 2003; Harvey 2006). Cheese milk standardized by MPCs
or ultrafiltered milk offers cheese processors an opportunity to
produce consistent cheese throughout the year (Rehman and oth-
ers 2003). Caro and others (2011) studied the effect of adding
either skim milk or a commercial MPC to whole milk on the
composition, yield, and functional properties of Mexican oaxaca
and found that actual dry matter, and moisture-adjusted cheese
yields significantly decreased with SMP addition, but increased
with MPC addition. Possible reason for increase in dry matter
yield in cheeses using MPC addition compared to SMP addition
can be less loss of minerals, such as calcium phosphates from ca-
sein matrix; this also explains the reasons for why cheeses made
with MPC fortification or UF skim milk have a curdy matrix
(Guinee and others 1994). Francolino and others (2010) also found
that standardization of cheese milk with MPC increased the yield
of cheese from 13.8% to 16.7% due to the higher recovery of
total milk solids and proteins in MPC cheese and due to slightly
Figure 1–Number of global new product launches containing MPC and MPI in 2013.
Source: Innova (2015). New Product Database.
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Application of milk protein concentrates . . .
higher cheese moisture. It has also been reported that increas-
ing the milk protein content decreases the fat-to-protein ratio
and eliminates the need for cream separation. This practice im-
proves the ability of the casein matrix to retain more fat, and
also causes higher fat recoveries for Cheddar cheese when the
fat-to-protein ratio is optimized (Guinee and others 2006). Appli-
cation of MPC in cheese products includes nonstandard cheeses,
such as baker’s cheese, ricotta, feta, and Hispanic cheeses, pro-
cessed cheese and cheese products and other fresh cheeses. How-
ever, MPCs are not permitted as an ingredient in cheese with
a U.S. federal standard of identity (for example, Cheddar and
others).
Performance and health nutrition
High-protein supplements and diets are an increasing market
opportunity and are consumed for sports performance, devel-
opment, muscle recovery, and for general health (Mintel 2013;
Euromonitor International 2014). While whey protein is well
known and documented for its protein quality and rapid digestibil-
ity, the benefits of casein in MPCs or MPIs are becoming increas-
ingly recognized due to its ability to coagulate in the stomach; thus
allowing for slow digestion and extended release of amino acids
over time (Hall and others 2003; Lacroix and others 2006). One
of the initial nutritional products formulated by MetRx R,asports
nutrition company formed in the early 1990s, used MPI and MPC
as key ingredients, followed by whey ingredients. Most weight
loss nutritional blends are formulated to provide high protein-to-
carbohydrate (lactose) ratio (Layman and others 2003), such as
MetRx R, in order to provide the required protein level in the fin-
ished product. Many products now contain “micellar” casein or
MPI that have increased casein-to-whey protein ratio (often 95%
casein and 5% whey protein). One challenge of using high con-
centrations of standard MPCs and isolates is their viscosity when
in solution, which can lead to quality defects, such as thickening,
and make consumption of the beverage challenging (Hemar and
others 2001). Some of the key strategies processors use to lower
viscosity of MPC is by managing the size casein micelle and con-
trolling the whey protein denaturation (Horak and others 2014;
Lucey 2012; Singh 2012). Manufacturers, however, continue to
develop lower-viscosity products to help develop this market
further.
A key use for MPC and MPI is the development of high-protein
nutrition bars (>15 g protein per serving). A documented issue
with using high levels of functional dairy and nondairy proteins as
an ingredient in bars is that they affect texture, generally hardening
the bar during shelf-life (Loveday and others 2009). Typically food
formulators will use a combination of different sources of protein
to address bar hardness (Loveday and others 2009). Specialized
MPCs have been developed where the functionality has been
changed either through processing changes or partial hydrolysis
in order to better control this phenomenon, but new ways are
always being examined, such as the use of high-pressure processing,
extrusion, and hydrolysis (Banach 2012; Udabage and others 2012;
Banach and others 2014).
Most of these dairy-based products were originally formulated
using casein ingredients, primarily sodium, and calcium caseinate.
The ability of caseinate to meet very precise nutritional profiles,
while providing limited viscosity, meant they were ideal. More
recently, however, the development of very-high-protein MPCs
and MPIs that can meet stringent specifications, together with
lower cost and improved flavor, has resulted in the growth of sales
in these areas.
Ice cream/frozen yogurt
For ice cream mixes, it has been demonstrated that traditional
skim milk ingredients can be readily replaced, on a similar pro-
tein basis, using MPC56 or MPC80 without compromising the
desirable physical properties of the ice cream mix (Alvarez and
others 2005), which suggests MPC is a suitable ingredient for the
production of reduced-lactose ice cream. With the growth of the
high-protein market, processors have been looking to increase
the protein content of many products including ice cream. In ad-
dition, the growth of Greek yogurt has made the lateral move into
Frozen Greek yogurt an obvious choice. Both these applications
need to increase the protein without significantly increasing lac-
tose or the result might yield in quality defects, such as sandiness,
due to lactose crystallization (Patel and others 2006).
Cultured dairy products
It has been shown that MPCs can be used as replacements for
traditional skim milk ingredients, such as NFDM, and are gener-
ally added to increase the protein content and to improve texture,
minimize whey separation, and to improve the stability of yogurt
(De Castro-Morel and Harper 2002). Replacing NFDM with
MPC had no negative effect on the desirable textural properties
of yogurt (Mistry and Hassan 1992; Guzm´ an-Gonz´ ales and oth-
ers 1999). Protein fortification is one of the approaches to make
high-protein Greek style yogurt without production of acid whey.
Processors have successfully used MPCs to fortify protein and
achieve desirable texture for high protein Greek style yogurts.
U.S. Greek yogurt and Greek style yogurt continue to gain
volume with category growth of more than 10% and with volume
share of more than 35% of 2014 yogurt sales in retail (IRI 2014).
Greek yogurt is not bound to a standard of identity at this point,
except as a yogurt and the use of MPCs in yogurt production is
well accepted.
High-protein beverages
MPC and MPI can provide a protein boost necessary to meet
nutrient content claims, such as “excellent” or “good sources of
protein,” as well as providing milky flavor and opacity to products.
MPCs are typically used in neutral pH beverages but in combi-
nation with certain stabilizer system, can easily be used to fortify
protein in smoothies and cultured beverages. The caseins in MPCs
tend to precipitate near isoelectric point of casein (pH 4.6) or the
protein will become extremely viscous, particularly if the product
is to be stored for a long time. Manufacturers have been able to
overcome some of the above challenges with use of certain polysac-
charides, such as pectin, cellulose gum, and processing steps, such
as homogenization to achieve a stable suspension (Jurlina 2014).
Current research continues to develop lower-viscosity systems, and
often combinations with WPCs provide the needed protein and
mineral nutritional requirement and shelf-life requirements.
Emulsion systems: low-fat spreads, soups, salad dressings
MPCs offer food and beverage formulators a unique oppor-
tunity to develop lower fat emulsion systems especially where
creaminess and opacity is desired without the need of starches
and gums, such as low fat spreads, soups, and salad dressing
(Dybowska 2001). MPCs provides viscosity, emulsification, water-
binding, gelling, foaming/whipping, and heat stability, together
with a pleasant dairy flavor. In addition, food formulators can
formulate products to meet the needs of high-protein products
(Mintel 2013).
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