WHEY PROTEINS AS NUTRITIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL FOOD INGREDIENTS

Whey is a disposal problem to the dairy industry and a worsening manag ement issue. Whey contains protein constituents with useful and, in ma ny cases, unique properties of relevance to their use as food ingredie nts. To date however, whey proteins have only seen limited food use, u sually as ingredients imparting structure and texture. Whey proteins h ave great potential in the areas of nutrition and physiological functi onality, and these features should encourage their greater use as food ingredients. First, whey protein is easily digested and is effective in meeting the body's amino acid and energy requirements, and is argua bly the most economical quality dietary protein source available. Seco nd, development of industrial technologies for isolation of whey prote in fractions now facilitates the preparation of infant formulas with p rotein compositions more reflective of human milk. Finally, using an a nimal model of colon cancer, evidence indicates that dietary whey prot ein significantly retards the development of colon cancer, and thus ha s potential as a functional food ingredient. These features strengthen the argument for greater use of whey proteins in any modern whey mana gement strategy.