Concentrated and Dry Milk Ingredients

• Enhance stable emulsifications
• Form rigid, heat-induced irreversible gels that hold water and fat, and provide structural support to meat products
• Provide water-binding properties, which may reduce the cost of food (water is inexpensive) and improve sensory perception
• Enhance the flavor of meat products
• The milkfat present in the milk ingredient acts as a flavor carrier for fat-soluble ingredients, spices and herbs; milkfat’s low melting point ensures complete flavor release

Lactose

• Enhances the color intensity and stability of many meat products
• Brightens and preserves color
• In sausage and meat products, the addition of lactose helps control browning—especially important during heat treatments like frying or microwave heating
• Masks salty and bitter flavors, such as the characteristically strong taste of liver in liver-based spreads or pâtés
• Injecting brine solutions containing lactose can improve product and structure formation
• Provides an effective starter culture carbohydrate for the preparation of fermented sausages; suggested levels are 1% to 3% in fermented sausage and 0.5% to 3.0% in cooked hams

Whey

• Enhances sensory attributes of meat products such as bologna, reduced-fat sausage and roast beef
• Delivers exceptional nutritional value to meat products, including amino acids that are readily digestible and completely bioavailable
• Provides an excellent source of calcium, an essential nutrient not readily available in other regularly consumed foods: 100 grams of dry sweet whey contains about 770 mg of calcium and 100 grams of dry acid whey contains about 2,280 mg of calcium
• Contributes to a food’s healthful image and clean label, and ultimately, to the sale of the food
• WPC, properly processed, provides outstanding fat distribution in meat products
• Whey proteins adsorb on the surface of fat globules, providing a physical separation and preventing the many small fat globules from forming one large mass
• In sausage and processed lunch meat, whey ingredients assist in the adhering of pieces of meat to each other after the meats have been chopped and blended with other ingredients
• Exceptional water-binding capacity increases the yield value of various meat products such as ham and surimi
• Improved water retention affects the texture of meat products, with moistness being directly related to consumers’ perception of freshness