60% of food is not consumed, this is an opportunity to minimize world hunger.
Reducing food waste contribute to reduce world hunger. We know price is directly proportional to demand and its availability. 60% of food that is not consumed is unnecessarily acting to increase the food demand and thus increasing the food price which hungry poor people cannot afford.
Whey is one of the major by-products of the dairy industry all over the world. It is a greenish-yellow translucent liquid, obtained as a by-product during the manufacture of cheese, paneer, chhana, chakka and casein in the dairy industry, which is viewed as one of the major problems of disposal by the dairy industry. Currently, total world production of whey is approximately 85 million tonnes, in which India contributes approximately 8 million tonnes.
Whey retains about 40-50% of total solids present in milk and is rich in organic matter and commands high biological oxygen demand (BOD) of 38,000 to 46,000 ppm; in some cases it even reaches up to 76000 ppm as compared to 200 ppm permissible limit for domestic sewage (NDRI, 1978; Mishra, 2008). In order to treat this whey to the statutory pollution control norms, about 0.4 kW of energy per litre is estimated to be utilized. Thus, disposal of whey not only causes the loss of nutritionally rich milk solids but also puts additional financial burden on the dairies.
Whey is a rich source of lactose, proteins, minerals and water soluble vitamins. It retains around 80-90% lactose, 20% protein, 70% minerals and almost all water soluble vitamins present in milk from which it is derived. Presence of several nutritionally important Introduction Page 2 constituents having excellent functional characteristics enhances opportunities for wide-range applications of whey and whey constituents in the food industry. Hence, development of technology to utilize whey for the manufacture of a variety of new food products as well as for the replacement of comparatively expensive food ingredients is regarded as an important R&D activity of the food industry
Types of whey Generally, whey can be categorized into two main types, sweet and acid whey depending on processing sequence resulting in casein removal from fluid milk. i) Sweet whey: Resulting from enzymatic coagulation of the milk proteins (pH > 6) ii) Acid whey: Resulting from acid coagulation of the milk proteins (pH ꞊ 4-5)
Utilization of whey Whey is mostly drained-off due to absence of economically viable methods for its utilization, which not only causes losses of precious nutrients but also creates environmental problems due to its high biological oxygen demand (30,000-50,000 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (60,000-80,000 mg/L). There is increased awareness all over the world on the potential utilization of whey, primarily because of pollution prevention regulations, economic conditions and future needs to ease world food shortage Whey utilization can result in the following benefits:
• Utilization of whey helps in reducing the wastage of the nutrients present in it.
• Nutrients present in whey can supplement the diet of Indian population, who are in lower income groups, considered below the poverty line.
• Utilization of whey in the production of various diversified and value-added food products for health conscious consumers, e.g. functional foods and nutraceuticals.
• It generates new avenues for export promotion by the production of whey based long life nutritious products like whey protein concentrates by the use of membrane technology.
• Utilization of whey and whey components in convenience foods e.g. infant foods, sports foods, geriatric foods, beverages, bakery products etc.
• Whey can also be used to feed animals in the large farms, thus reducing the need for supplements.
• After proper neutralization treatment, whey can find its use in irrigation to add nutrients to the soil.
• Proper utilization of whey protects the environment and
• Economical benefits resulting from its utilization and avoiding waste disposal Considering the nutritional and functional virtues of whey, several attempts have been made earlier to utilize whey solids in the preparation of soups, beverages, bakery products, confectionary products, coffee drinks, cereal and millet based health foods as well as some traditional foods. Whey is used in dairy and food products in different forms like liquid whey, condensed whey (40 to 50 per cent solids), whey powders, demineralized whey powder, whey protein concentrates, protein hydrolyses like whey protein isolates, individual proteins and their derivatives (Bund and Pandit, 2005). The utilization of whey in the dairy and food industries enhances the nutritional and therapeutic value of the products.
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