Machine turns whey into texture additive
ingredient they can use to improve the texture and taste of low-fat
products.
"The result is a very healthy and nutritionally balanced product with a neutral flavour and a mouth feel similar to milk fat that makes it attractive to the dairy and food industries for high-quality low-fat products," APV claimed in a press release.
The microparticulation process combines thermal and mechanical treatment in a newly developed APV Shear Agglomerator machine to produce a product with a similar look, texture and viscosity as coffee cream.
The Shear Agglomerator enables precise control of protein particle sizes within very narrow constraints and combined with a long operation time, the company stated.
The process enables the producers to make a microparticulated whey protein concentrate product consisting of homogeneous protein particles of similar size as fat globules in milk.
The APV process allows processors to control particle size distribution. This allows dairy and food producers to customise the product for a wide variety of different recipes and end products.
The process has been under development for three years, partly together with a development partner in Germany, and partly at APV's own research centre in Silkeborg, Denmark.
Five LeanCreme plants have been sold in the past year, the company stated. Potential clients can rent an APV pilot plant to test the process for their own products under development.
APV has applied for a patent for critical elements of the process.
