Greek yogurt manufacturers in the US could cut their acid whey output by a collective 1 million tons a year by converting it into value-added dairy products, according to Arla Foods Ingredients.
Arla Foods Ingredients has developed a processing solution – based on a Nutrilac protein derived from milk – that enables producers of Greek yogurt to use their acid whey to make products such as fermented beverages, whey drinks, desserts and spreadable cheese.
For every 100kg of milk used to make Greek yogurt, only 33kg ends up used in the final product. The remaining two-thirds is acid whey, a by-product that producers often dispose of in their waste stream.
The impact of acid whey in the US has been in the spotlight as a result of the surge in popularity of Greek yogurt, with sales worth an estimated $3.29 billion in 2013 – or half of the total American yogurt market. This equates to a volume of about 500,000 tons of Greek yogurt a year – or 1 million tons of acid whey.
Torben Jensen, application manager at Arla Foods Ingredients, said “With Greek yogurt sales booming in the US, acid whey has become a burden to manufacturers, both in terms of the cost of disposing of it, and the negative PR it attracts. Until now, acid whey has been accepted as a hassle that Greek yogurt producers have just had to put up with. But now it’s a potential revenue stream and an opportunity to enhance sustainability credentials.”