Effect of bleaching permeate from microfiltered skim milk on 80% serum protein concentrate1

Whey proteins that have been removed before the cheese-making process are referred to as “native” whey proteins or milk serum proteins. Because serum proteins isolated directly from milk are not exposed to the cheese-making process, they are free from functional or sensory effects arising from this process. Whey proteins used in food and beverage applications are largely derived from annatto-colored Cheddar cheese. Some of the annatto is left in the whey and this color is converted to a colorless compound by bleaching. The effect of bleaching serum proteins on flavor and functionality of spray-dried protein provides a platform to investigate the effect of bleaching free from the confounding effects of cheese manufacture. The objective of this study was to characterize and compare the sensory and functional properties of 80% milk serum protein concentrate (SPC80) produced from bleached and unbleached microfiltration (MF) permeate made from skim milk with and without added annatto color. Colored and uncolored MF permeates were bleached with benzoyl peroxide (BP) or hydrogen peroxide (HP), ultrafiltered, diafiltered, and spray-dried. The SPC80 from unbleached colored and uncolored MF permeates were manufactured as controls. All treatments were manufactured in triplicate. All SPC80 were evaluated by sensory testing, instrumental analyses, functionality, color, and proximate analysis. The HP-bleached SPC80 was higher in lipid oxidation compounds than BP-bleached or unbleached SPC80, specifically hexanal, heptanal, nonanal, decanal, and 2,3-octadienone. The HP treatments were higher in aroma intensity and cardboard and fatty flavors compared with the unbleached and BP-bleached SPC80. The SPC80 bleached with BP had lower concentrations of norbixin compared with SPC80 bleached with HP. Functionality testing demonstrated that HP treatments had more soluble protein after 10 min of heating at 90°C and pH 4.6 and pH 7 compared with the no bleach and BP treatments, regardless of additional color. Foams generated from bleached SPC80 were more stable than those from unbleached SPC80, and those bleached with HP were lower in yield stress than other SPC80. Overall, HP bleaching destroyed less norbixin and caused more lipid oxidation and subsequent off-flavors than did BP bleaching. However, the heat stability of SPC80 was enhanced by HP bleaching compared with control treatments or BP bleaching.