Separation of α-Lactalbumin Enriched Fraction from Bovine Native Whey Concentrate by Combining Membrane and High-Pressure Processing

Whey exhibits interesting nutritional properties, but its high β-Lactoglobulin (β-Lg) content could be a concern in infant food applications. In this study, high-pressure processing (HPP) was assessed as a β-Lg removal strategy to generate an enriched α-Lactalbumin (α-La) fraction from bovine native whey concentrate. Different HPP treatment parameters were considered: initial pH (physiological and acidified), sample temperature (7–35 °C), pressure (0–600 MPa) and processing time (0–490 s). The conditions providing the best α-La yield and α-La purification degree balance (46.16% and 80.21%, respectively) were 4 min (600 MPa, 23 °C), despite the significant decrease of the surface hydrophobicity and the total thiol content indexes in the α-La-enriched fraction. Under our working conditions, the general effects of HPP on α-La and β-Lg agreed with results reported in other studies of cow milk or whey. Notwithstanding, our results also indicated that the use of native whey concentrate could improve the β-Lg precipitation degree and the α-La purification degree, in comparison to raw milk or whey. Future studies should include further characterization of the α-La-enriched fraction and the implementation of membrane concentration and HPP treatment to valorize cheese whey.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pulse Spray Drying for Bovine Skimmed Milk Powder Production

Pulse Spray Drying (PSD) has potential as a sustainable means of skimmed milk powder (SMP) production. In this study, powders were obtained from PSD using different drying outlet temperatures (70, 80, 90 and 100 °C), and their characteristics were compared to those of traditional Spray Drying (SD). Native whey proteins were well preserved and Solubility Indexes were over 98% in all cases, despite powders obtained by PSD displaying lower solubility than the SD ones. No visual difference was observable in the powders (ΔE < 2); however, PSD powders were found to be yellower with a higher Browning Index. The drying technology did not have a significant effect on powder moisture content and bulk density. Particle size distribution and scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the presence of fine particles (<10 μm) in all samples that might have provided poor flowability and wetting behavior (overall Carr Index and Hausner ratio were 33.86 ± 3.25% and 1.52 ± 0.07, respectively). Higher amounts of agglomerated particles were found at low temperatures in the products processed with both technologies, but PSD samples showed a narrower particle size distribution and hollow particles with more wrinkles on the surface (probably due to the fast evaporation rate in PSD). Overall, PSD provided SMP with comparable physicochemical characteristics to SD and, once optimized at the industrial level, could offer significant advantages in terms of thermal efficiency without significant modification of the final product quality.This research was funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (PRIMA, grant number 1833, project Dairy Innovation for Mediterranean SME—DAINME-SME), and the CERCA Programme; and the APC was funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (PRIMA, grant number 1833; project Dairy Innovation for Mediterranean SME (DAINME-SME).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The high-frequency thawing process applied to the meat processing industry

Avui en dia l&rsquo;aplicaci&oacute; de la descongelaci&oacute; a la ind&uacute;stria aliment&agrave;ria est&agrave; molt arrelada als processos productius actuals, ja que &eacute;s una pr&agrave;ctica comuna utilitzar aliments congelats com a mat&egrave;ria primera. Habitualment, la descongelaci&oacute; es realitza mitjan&ccedil;ant una cambra de descongelaci&oacute; per assegurar la temperatura adequada per executar el proc&eacute;s productiu. Una alternativa per a la descongelaci&oacute; &eacute;s la tecnologia electromagn&egrave;tica.PARAULES CLAU: descongelaci&oacute; c&agrave;rnia, tecnologia electromagn&egrave;tica, millora de proc&eacute;s.Thawing is a common practice in the food industry because frozen products are widely used as raw materials. This process is usually carried out by means of a thawing chamber to ensure the right temperature for the production process. Here, electromagnetic technology is proposed as an alternative for the thawing process.KEYWORDS: meat thawing, electromagnetic technology, process improvement