Ingredients News(3) Dairy proteins have greater versatility and lesswastage. Can you illustrate this statement ?Dairy protein’s multifaceted nutritional and functionality benefitsare a key reason why they are a sought after ingredient used inwide ranging products that delight consumers across geographies,gender and age groups. If you walk up and down a supermarketaisle in the US or other markets where dairy protein usage is wellrooted, you will find them in the ingredient statements of a multitudeof products. Some examples are sports nutritional powders, childnutrition formulas, medical nutrition products, beverages, yogurt,potato chips, protein bars and bites, pancake mix, oatmeal, desserts,ready meals and side dishes, soups and dressings, and even icecream.At a time when environmental consciousness is on the rise, wastereduction is perhaps a lesser known but also significant benefit ofdairy proteins. Whey protein itself is a co-product of the productionof cheese, created by harvesting nutritionally valuable proteinsfrom milk during the cheesemaking process and turning them intomultifunctional ingredients. The exciting thing is that availability isnot limited to cheesemaking today. Milk proteins (composition 80%casein and 20% whey) can also be separated from milk directly,thanks to advances in filtration. These milk protein ingredients bringunique properties for different formulations, widening the applicationsthat can include dairy’s valuable nutrition and taste.Looking at protein ingredients overall, during protein isolation/purification, non-protein co-products are produced which mustultimately be utilised or disposed. A landscape survey commissionedby the National Dairy Council (US) and completed in 2020 comparedthe commercial processing of 17 protein ingredients (dairy, plantand insect) from post-harvest through production of the finished dryprotein powder, including if and how the co-products are utilised. Thesurvey found that dairy protein processing tends to find more valueaddeduses in food applications than those of alternative proteins.A key example is dairy permeate, the lactose and mineral rich coproductof whey protein and milk protein manufacturing. In thisfashion, dairy ingredient processing fosters every drop of milk to beutilised rather than wasted, to nourish consumers around the worldand contributing to sustainable food systems.(4) In terms of sustainability, how does dairy proteinscompare to its protein alternative counterparts ?Dairy protein maximises value for food and beverage manufacturers.The same 2020 landscape survey found that US dairy proteinsmay have a similar environmental impact to plant proteins whenconsidered from the perspective of nutritional quality rather thanaccording to the food’s raw weight or caloric content.The US dairy community has a long legacy of environmentalstewardship and sustainability, and a strong track record of takingaction to protect the planet. When comparing 2017 with a decadeearlier in 2007, producing a gallon or about 3.8 litres of milk in the USinvolved 30% less water and 21% less land, while greenhouse gasemissions were reduced by 19%. This was accomplished throughinnovative practices such as maximising cow comfort (e.g. somehave waterbed mattresses), optimising balanced nutritional intakevia feeding practices, genetics, and investments in technologylike methane digesters. And, US Dairy remains fully committedto continue to make further progress while always innovating andinvesting to produce dairy products with fewer resources. Thisincludes aggressive new sustainability targets announced in 2020 tobecome carbon neutral or better by the year 2050.In fact, a 2019 report from the Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations (FAO) and Global Dairy Platform on climatechange found that North America is leading the world when it comesto efforts to reduce dairy greenhouse gas emissions. North Americawas the only region of the seven studied where both emissionsintensity and absolute emissions fell for the timeframe of the report(2005-2015) while overall milk production rose.(5) With the current pandemic situation, the issue ofnutrition (especially choosing the right nutrition) hastaken a far more important role in consumer well-being.What is your take/advise on this?In COVID pandemic times and always, consuming nutritious foodsand beverages is important to help the body stay strong and healthyand help provide defenses against illnesses. Dairy’s unique nutritionalpackage including vitamin D, calcium, protein, etc. is an importantpart of a healthful daily diet across lifestyles and life stages, from agrowing child, to a weight or fitness conscious adult or active senior.A unique concern during pandemic times is that people may behaving more sedentary lifestyles, given restrictions on visiting fitnesscenters or other limitations on usual exercise activities in publicplaces. Such reduced physical activity could risk a loss of musclemass, the type of loss known as sarcopenia that is typically seenin older adults or after hospitalisation for an illness. Studies haveshown that whey protein can support muscle health (muscle proteinsynthesis and maintenance of muscle mass) while helping to mitigatethe negative impacts of physical inactivity. Notably, whey proteinleads as a food source of the branched chain amino acid leucine,which is an important trigger to initiate muscle protein synthesis.(6) With a global population reaching 10 billionby 2050, what do you foresee to be the future ofmainstream dairy proteins/products ?Ensuring consumers around the world in both developed anddeveloping nations and across all life stages have steady access tonutritious, environmentally friendly and affordable food and beverageproducts is of vital importance to feed a rising global population. Thisincludes both animal foods like dairy and plant based foods, not oneor the other. Today, nutrient deficiencies exist in low- and middleincomepopulations that consume mostly plant-based diets. Dairycan complement plant-based diets by providing a unique and hardto-replacenutrient package that can raise intake levels of nutrientsthat are low or absent in plant-based diets.Especially, every bite counts when we think of providing andinnovating foods that meet the nutritional needs of malnourishedor vulnerable populations as well as older adults and seniors inan aging society that have special nutritional needs. US dairyingredients like whey and milk proteins provide food and beverageformulators an ideal sweet spot of a ‘no-compromise’ ingredientsolution that is concurrently healthful for the body as well as theplanet. As a nutritionally complete source of protein, dairy proteinscan play a positive role in addressing the triple burden of malnutrition(undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight) whilesupporting sustainable food systems.Asia Food & Beverages 28
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