A DAIRY PRODUCT

Abstract

A dairy product produced by a method comprising steps of: a) passing skim milk through an ultrafiltration membrane to produce an ultrafiltration permeate; and b) combining one part of the ultrafiltration permeate with whole milk; wherein the dairy product is low in protein and retains total solids content similar to a cow's milk.

Claims

1. A dairy product having a nutritional profile as follows: TABLE-US-00008 Nutrient Range (w/v) Energy 45-80 kcal/100 ml Protein 0.9 to 2.5 g/100 ml Lipids 3.0 to 4.5 g/100 ml Carbohydrate (CHO) 4 to 6 g/100 ml Vitamin B2 180 g/100 ml Vitamin A 31 to 100 g/100 ml Vitamin D 0.17-0.9 g/100 ml Iodine 80-90 g/100 ml Calcium 70 to 120 mg/100 ml

2. A dairy product having a nutritional profile as follows: TABLE-US-00009 Nutrient Range (w/v) Energy 33-55 kCals Protein 0.9 to 2.5 g/100 ml Lipids 1.5 to 2.5 g/100 ml Carbohydrate (CHO) 4 to 6 g/100 ml Vitamin B2 180 g/100 ml Vitamin A 31 to 100 g/100 ml Vitamin D 0.17 g/100 ml Iodine 80-90 g/100 ml Calcium 70 to 120 mg/100 ml

3. A dairy product according to claim 1, wherein the product comes in the form of a liquid, a powder or UHT-treated.

4. (canceled)

5. A dairy product according to claim 1, wherein the product originates from the milk of mammal such as a cow, a water buffalo, a goat, a sheep, a yak, a horse, a camel, a domestic buffalo, and a donkey.

6. A dairy product according to claim 1, wherein the dairy product is milk, yoghurt, a yoghurt drink, a probiotic, chocolate milk, shake or mousse.

7. A method for producing a dairy product, the method comprising the steps of: (a) passing skim milk through an ultrafiltration membrane to produce an ultrafiltration permeate; and (b) combining one part of the ultrafiltration permeate with whole milk to produce the dairy product which is low in fat and low in protein when compared to unaltered whole milk from the same lactating mammal; and optionally (c) blending cream with the combination of the one part of the ultrafiltration permeate combined with whole milk in (b) to produce the dairy product which is low in protein and has normal levels of fat when compared to unaltered whole milk from the same lactating mammal.

8. A method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of: passing a second part of the ultrafiltration permeate through a nanofiltration membrane or a 1 kDa ultrafiltration membrane to produce a permeate; and combining the permeate with the combination of the first part of the ultrafiltration permeate and whole milk produced in (b) prior to or following the step (c) of blending the cream.

9. (canceled)

10. A method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of: passing a second part of the ultrafiltration permeate through a nanofiltration membrane or a 1 kDa ultrafiltration membrane to produce a permeate; and combining the permeate with the combination of one part of the ultrafiltration permeate and whole milk in (b).

11. A method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of adding one or more supplements to the product; wherein the supplements are optionally selected from vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin A, vitamin D, Iodine, calcium, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and iron.

12. A method according to claim 7, wherein the ultrafiltration step utilises membranes having a molecular weight cut off of between 5 kDa and 50 kDa.

13. A method according to claim 7, wherein the nanofiltration step utilises membranes having a molecular weight cut-off of between 100 and 1000 Da.

14. A method according to claim 7, wherein the milk originates from a mammal such as a cow, a water buffalo, a goat, a sheep, a yak, a horse, a camel, a domestic buffalo and a donkey.

15. A dairy product produced by the method of claim 7.

16. A dairy product according to claim 2, wherein the product comes in the form of a liquid, a powder or UHT-treated.

17. A dairy product according to claim 2, wherein the product originates from the milk of mammal such as a cow, a water buffalo, a goat, a sheep, a yak, a horse, a camel, a domestic buffalo, and a donkey.

18. A dairy product according to claim 2, wherein the dairy product is milk, yoghurt, a yoghurt drink, a probiotic, chocolate milk, shake or mousse.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0065] The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0066] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of the process for producing one of the dairy products described herein;

[0067] FIG. 2 illustrates a flow chart of the process for producing another of the dairy products described herein;

[0068] FIG. 3 illustrates the appearance of the reduced-fat and reduced-protein dairy product described herein, commercially available reduced-fat milk; and commercially available toddler milk.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Materials and Methods

Reduced-Fat, Reduced-Protein Milk Product Process

[0069] One of the objectives of the invention is to produce a dairy product having a reduced protein and fat content when compared to whole milk but with a taste similar to reduced-fat milk. The objective was achieved by using either regular skim milk produced during cream (fat) separation or to source skim milk powder (SMP) and reconstitute it in water to similar milk solids levels of fresh skim milk (see FIG. 1). The skim milk is passed through an ultrafiltration membrane to produce an ultrafiltration permeate. A first part of the resultant ultrafiltration permeate is combined with whole milk. This results in a dairy product that has reduced fat levels, has reduced protein content and a taste profile similar to reduced-fat milk. Optionally, a second part of the ultrafiltration permeate is passed through a nanofiltration membrane or a 1 kDa ultrafiltration membrane and the resultant permeate is combined with the whole milk and the first part of the ultrafiltration permeate. This also results in a dairy product that has reduced fat levels, has reduced protein content and has a taste profile similar to reduced-fat milk. Importantly, the resultant dairy product has a reduced protein content compared to reduced-fat milk while retaining a reduced-fat milk taste.

[0070] The method used here provides a significant shift in the dairy product composition with minimal impairment of flavour. In addition, when the fat content of the milk is standardised during the process, it is aligned in percentage terms with that of the percentage of protein, thus, simplifying the subsequent protein standardisation step i.e. one addition of milk permeate will bring both fat and protein to the 1.5% target.

Full-Fat or Whole Milk and Reduced Protein Product Process

[0071] One of the objectives of the invention is to produce a dairy product having a reduced protein, but having full fat content or a fat content similar to that of whole milk, and with a taste similar to whole (full fat) milk. The objective was achieved by using either regular skim milk produced during cream (fat) separation or to source skim milk powder (SMP) and reconstitute it in water to similar milk solids levels of fresh skim milk (see FIG. 2). The skim milk is passed through an ultrafiltration membrane to produce an ultrafiltration permeate. A first part of the resultant ultrafiltration permeate is combined with whole milk. This results in a dairy product that has reduced fat levels, has reduced protein content (when compared to whole milk) and has a similar taste profile to that of whole milk. Optionally, a second part of the ultrafiltration permeate is passed through a nanofiltration membrane or a 1 kDa ultrafiltration membrane and the resultant permeate is combined with the whole milk and the first part of the ultrafiltration permeate. This also results in a dairy product that has normal, full fat content similar to whole milk, has reduced protein content and has a taste profile similar to whole milk. After the whole milk is combined with the ultrafiltration permeate, cream from the cream (fat) separation stage is blended with the combination to produce a dairy product that has normal fat levels (approximately 3.5% fat), has reduced protein content.

[0072] Importantly, the resultant dairy product has a full-fat and reduced protein content compared to reduced-fat or whole milk while retaining a whole milk taste.

[0073] It is also possible to generate milk permeate by ultrafiltration of whole milk and substitute this for the ultrafiltration permeate sourced from skim milk, as described above.

[0074] The method used here provides a significant shift in the dairy product composition with minimal impairment of flavour.

Powder Form

[0075] A typical method for making powdered dairy products is used here. For example, following standard concentration by evaporation, the remaining product is spray dried, leaving the powdered form.

UHT

[0076] Standard UHT procedures are used to make a UHT version of the dairy product. In essence, the dairy product is heated to 140 C. with a holding time of not less than 4 seconds, followed by either aseptic filling/packaging (long shelf life product (typically 6-12 months) or clean-fill to produce an Extended Shelf Life (ESL) product with a typical shelf life of 30-40 days.

Nutritional Profile of Dairy Milk Product

[0077] The nutritional profile of the dairy milk product of the invention.

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 1 Nutritional Profile of reduced-fat and reduced-protein dairy milk product described herein in comparison to other typical types of commercial milk products. **Reduced-fat Reduced- and Reduced- Whole fat *Toddler Protein Dairy Nutrient Milk Milk Milk Product Energy (kcal/100 ml) 64 46 50-67 38.5 Protein (g/100 ml) 3.3 3.3 1.3-1.8 1.5 Lipids (g/100 ml) 3.5 1.5 1.9-3.3 1.5 CHO (g/100 ml) 4.8 4.9 6.3-8.5 4.6 *a typical commercially available toddler milk **the reduced-fat and reduced-protein dairy product described herein; CHO = carbohydrate

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 2 This is a nutritional profile of the reduced-fat and reduced-protein dairy product described herein. Nutrient Range (w/v) Energy 33-55 kcal/100 ml Protein 0.9 to 2.5 g/100 ml Lipids 1.5 to 2.5 g/100 ml Carbohydrate (CHO) 4 to 6 g/100 ml Vitamin B2 180 g/100 ml Vitamin A 31 to 100 g/100 ml Vitamin D 0.17 g/100 ml Iodine 80-90 g/100 ml Calcium 70 to 120 mg/100 ml

TABLE-US-00006 TABLE 3 This is a nutritional profile of the full-fat and reduced-protein dairy product described herein. Nutrient Range (w/v) Energy 45-80 kcal/100 ml Protein 0.9 to 2.5 g/100 ml Lipids 3.0 to 4.5 g/100 ml Carbohydrate (CHO) 4 to 6 g/100 ml Vitamin B2 180 g/100 ml Vitamin A 31 to 100 g/100 ml Vitamin D 0.17-0.9 g/100 ml Iodine 80-90 g/100 ml Calcium 70 to 120 mg/100 ml

TABLE-US-00007 TABLE 4 This is a nutritional profile of a product of the present application. Nutrient Range Energy 45-55 kcals Protein 0.99-1.5 g/100 mls Lipids 1.5-2.5 g/100 mls CHO ~5 g/100 mls Vitamin B2 180 g/100 mls Vitamin A 31-100 g/100 mls Vitamin D 0.17 g/100 mls Iodine 80-90 g/100 mls Calcium 120 mg/100 mls

Calcium Adjustment

[0078] The incorporation of an optional second stage ultrafiltration step using a membrane of appropriate molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) enables further fractionation of the milk permeate arising from primary ultrafiltration to produce a mineral-rich permeate with a recovery efficiency of approx. 70%. This mineral-rich phase may be re-incorporated either in its dilute state into reduced-protein milk or may be further concentrated (using a variety of methods e.g. thermal evaporation; reverse osmosis etc.) before re-incorporation. Thus, the reduced protein milk should contain approx. 70% of that of the naturally bioavailable soluble minerals of the original milk used to in the method, such as, calcium.

Taste

[0079] Current commercially available toddler milk is processed using UHT, which gives it a characteristic burnt odour and taste. While masking strategies have been successful in improving the taste of these toddler milks, they are still significantly different to the taste of fresh milk, better resembling the taste of a sweet milkshake.

[0080] The method of manufacturing the dairy products as described herein, which modifies cow's milk through process refinements such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration, primarily to reduce the protein content, leads to a dairy product that closely resembles the taste of reduced-fat cow's milk and whole cow's milk, but with a reduced protein and reduced fat content, with respect to the reduced-fat milk, and with a reduced protein but normal fat content, with respect to the whole milk, both of which are nutritionally tailored for toddlers between the ages of 1-3 years.

Sensory Test for Reduced-Fat and Reduced-Protein Dairy Product

Background

[0081] Three versions of the dairy product (reduced protein and reduced-fat milk) were prepared for descriptive analysis by a focus group of untrained panellists (n=10). These products included: [0082] A fresh pasteurised sample [0083] A UHT treated sample [0084] A reconstituted spray dried sample

[0085] All dairy products had a 1.5% protein and 1.5% fat content and were taste-tested versus a control with 3.1% protein. Both the UHT and reconstituted spray dried samples were also taste-tested versus commercially available toddler milk (1.5% protein and 1.9% fat). Each of the panellists was invited to blindly taste all samples and to guess which ones were the reduced protein and reduced-fat dairy products.

Taste Session Outcome

[0086] Of the 10 panellists, 5 believed the reduced-protein and reduced-fat dairy products to have a superior taste, whereas the other 5 panellists believed the 3.1% protein controls to be of superior taste. There was a general consensus that a consumer would not be able to tell the difference if their regular reduced-fat milk was replaced with the reduced-protein and reduced-fat dairy product. Also, it was obvious to all panellists which sample was the commercially available toddler milk due to its brownish colour and characteristically sweet taste.

Results

[0087] No taste difference vs. regular reduced-fat milk [0088] No apparent loss of whiteness due to reduced protein (see FIG. 3) [0089] Noticeably different to commercially available toddler milks, which were very sweet, slightly burnt tasting and browner in comparison.

Preliminary Sensory Assessment of Protein-Reduced, Full-Fat Dairy Product

[0090] The panellists found that there was no apparent loss of whiteness due to reduced protein and that there was a very satisfactory taste from the dairy product, with only a slight loss in mouthfeel.

[0091] In the specification, the terms comprise, comprises, comprised and comprising or any variation thereof and the terms include, includes, included and including or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa.

[0092] The invention is not limited to the embodiments hereinbefore described but may be varied in both construction and detail.