FNB News - Use of milk and its products in various food products

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F&B SPECIALS

Use of milk and its products in various food products

Saturday, 16 March, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Dr J V Parekh

India’s food ingredients market is expanding at a nine per cent growth rate year-on-year. The factors aiding this growth include changing lifestyles and eating habits, increased per capita incomes and growing nutritional awareness, which have led to the demand for healthy, nutritious, and cost-effective convenience foods.

Milk and dairy products have a long history of use by food manufacturers, and baking, soft drinks, confectionery, ice cream and desserts industries being major users. Milk is widely regarded as the perfect food, containing all the essential nutrients, the carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins required to maintain the metabolic functions in the human body.

Innovation
Every industry relies on the development of new or modified products and it is noticeable that in the industries in which expansion is most rapid, the degree of innovation is usually at a high level. In recent years, there has been a lot of evidence to show that the dairy industry has abandoned its former introspective attitude and has come to recognise that product innovation is essential to survival and growth in today’s increasingly competitive world. This change, brought about as a result of commercial, political, socio-economic and scientific pressures, is resulting in the gradual movement away from the concept of milk as a sancrosanct liquid towards one of milk as a first-class raw material for the food industry. Thus the idea of fractionating milk into its individual components and recombining these in different ways, or combining these with non-dairy ingredients to produce new foods, has gained ground, and has now been translated into reality with the emergence of food products.

Let us now consider why the food manufacturer should give consideration to the use of milk and its products in his own products and how the dairy industry can meet his manufacturing needs.

Selection of products
In selecting ingredients for compounded foods, the manufacturer considers three major parameters – availability, suitability and price. While these are inter-related and normally given equal weightage by the manufacturer in today’s inflationary world, cost is probably regarded as the prime factor.

Availability, diversity
Availability is generally no problem, and this is especially so with dairy products. In terms of product diversity, milk gives rise to a wide variety of products as a result of different processing techniques. Such techniques include condensing, drying, separating, culturing, clotting by rennets and some of the newer processes now being applied like reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration and electrodialysis.

Suitability
Suitability presents no problems as far as dairy products are concerned. They have many attractive physical, chemical and microbiological properties and are used in the food industry for four main reasons:
(i) To increase the nutritive value of products, particularly cheaper foods of plant origin;
(ii) To impart beneficial structural and rheological properties, e.g. creaminess, smoothness, water and fat binding, viscosity, thickening, stabilising, gelling and emulsifying;
(iii)To improve the flavour of a product e.g. cheesy, buttery, caramalised, etc.; and
(iv) To give the manufacturer a plus over competitiors in advertising and merchandising by capitalising on the consumer image of the quality of milk as an ideal food.

SPECIFIC PRODUCTS USED IN FOODS
In this section we will concentrate on a number of products, some well established, some new, which find application in the compounded foods field.

Cream
Whipped cream is probably the most important in the food industry, especially for caterers and bakers who use it for cakes and confectionery. Creams with 38-40 per cent fat content are commonly used since this gives a cream which is more easily whipped, gives a firmer whip and one which does not so readily suffer from syneresis.

Butter
There are several developments, particularly in Australia, Scandinavia and the United States, which could in the longer term make butter a growth market again by turning it into a product with enhanced appeal both to the manufacturers and the consumer. The fractionation of butterfat into different components according to their solidification point may prove to be a valuable tool in the modification of butter characteristics and described for achieving this. Various possibilities arise, notably the manufacture of butter comparatively rich in cleic and linoleic acids for use in dietetic foods, low melting butter for use in the production of readily wet table dried whole milk or for producing butter of increased hardness for marketing to consumers or food manufacturers in hot climates.

The shortening area is seen as another potentially valuable market. Plasticised butter fat shortenings are already being produced in Australia and used in commercial cake manufacture. It is possible to envisage a range of shortenings with different melting points and variable physical characteristics. As yet none has emerged but such a development would enable the bakery trade to provide a range of cakes, pastries and creams, all based on butterfat.

Advances in techniques for butterfat fractionation are likely to offer the high and low melting point oils to achieve shortening range extension. Likewise, developments arising from the production of milks rich in polyunsaturated fats are likely to open up new possibilities for the manufacturer.

Lactose-treated milk
Worldwide, there is growing awareness about lactose intolerance as consumers become more conscious about their diet. Milk is considered as an important ingredient in regular diet, and having realised lactose intolerance as a critical problem, individuals and governments globally have accepted lactase-based products as a sustainable solution that enables everyone to enjoy and benefit from these products. A variety of products are available in the market ranging from low-lactose yoghurt, cheese, butter and chocolates.

Cheese
Cheeses are widely used in the food industry, being essential constituents of products like pizzas, spaghetti, cheesecake, etc. Most of the advancement in this area however has come in the field of fresh soft cheeses, such as cottage and other low fat soft cheeses as a base for cheesecakes, dairy desserts and low calorie spreads. There is development in new profitable options for cheese foods customers by new product development via traditional and novel processing technologies. New ingredient and formulation development are taking place, such as natural cheese, processed cheese, analogue and imitation cheese, cheese sauces and spreads, cheese desserts, etc.

Cheese powders
Cheese powder is available in almost as many varieties as there are cheeses. It is normally produced by spray drying slurry made by heating the cheese with a sequestering and pH modifying agent such as phosphate or citrate. The resultant powder has wide applications in the baking industry as a protein and flavour source in biscuits, as a garnish for pizzas, as a flavour for snacks, particularly crisps, and as a base for cheesecake mix.

Yoghurt
Yoghurt is a product which has enjoyed extremely rapid growth in the last few years and is finding increasing application in a variety of foodstuffs, particularly in its natural, unsweetened form. It can be used by the manufacturer to make savoury sauces, dips, dietary specialities and recently is finding increasing application in the ice-cream industry, primarily in soft serve machines. There is development of milk protein ingredients that provide texture and flavour solutions in cultured food applications such as yoghurt and yoghurt drinks. Other developments and applications are in yoghurt texture improvers, functional milk proteins and functional milk powder.

Probiotic yoghurt
At present probiotics are added to dahi and yoghurt, which need to be refrigerated all the time to keep the bacteria alive so that the consumers get the health benefits. However, a large part of India does not have refrigerated supply chains. New technology can help reach the benefits of probiotics to the interior part of the country without needing any refrigeration. The delivery matrix completely consists of natural dairy ingredients and a range of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria can be delivered in a dry form.

Bifidus containing infant formula
Newer approach for enriching the biological adequacy of infant formulae, preponderance of bifidus microflora among the infants is known to perform several useful nutritional and protective functions, which includes synthesis of certain B-complex vitamins, superior absorbtion of nutritionally-important minerals, resistance of entropathogenic bacteria and detoxification influence in chronic liver diseases. Bifidus containing infant formula bearing close similarity to human milk with regard to whey proteins, casein ratio and fatty acid make-up.

UHT milk and cream
UHT milk and cream are finding application, especially with the small food manufacturer, since they can be stored at ambient temperatures prior to use.

Ice cream
This is the most important food based on dairy products. Ice-cream contains approximately 10 per cent fat and 11 per cent SNF. Some 4,000 tonnes of butterfat and 5,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder are used annually in its production.

Skimmed milk powder
Skimmed milk powder is widely used by the dairy industry itself, as a medium for propagation starters in cheese-making to boost solids in yoghurts and dairy desserts and in products like cheese spreads. High-heat skimmed milk power has a high water absorptivity and its main use is in baking, soups and confectionery and re-combined products.

In USA, a large market has been developed for powders consisting of mixtures of skimmed milk powder, sweeteners, thickeners, flavours, vitamins and minerals. When dissolved in a glass of whole milk they are said to provide the required nourishment for an instant breakfast. A wide variety of flavours are used such as cocoa or vanilla.

Buttermilk powder
Buttermilk powder has a very similar composition to skimmed milk powder, but is slightly higher in fat content and also contains a relatively high proportion of phospholipids. These arise from breakage of the fat globule membrane during the butter-making process. It is therefore the preferred powder for use as a whipping aid.

High-fat powder
In this powder, the usual fat varies from 70 to 90 per cent. It can be stored at room temperature without microbiological spoilage and it is dry-blended, which makes great convenience of use in food industries. This powder can be used in the manufacture of ready-to-use dry mixes such as cake mixes, in the ice-cream industry and as a shortening in the bakery and confectionery industries.

Dried acidophilus products
Some lactobacilli are indigenous to the intestinal tract of man and animal, and are believed to establish and stabilise the normal intestinal microflora of their host. These have shown therapeutic remedy against various gastrointestinal disorders. In general, the scientific opinion is in building up in favour of consuming these bacteria in the live form to take possible health and nutritional advantages. Suitable media or blends to carry Lactobacillus Acidophilus cells can be formulated, wherein the milk solids can be substituted with cheaper cereals, pulses, and food solids to get milk cereals or milk-banana-tomato or malt-type fermented dried food products.

Casein and caseinates
Casein has limited use in the food industry although it can be used as a protein source for the production of meat analogues. Its enzyme digest is also used in some highly-specialised diets and the acid hydrolysate enjoys a small use as a mild savoury flavour. The alkali caseinates, however, are specifically prepared to play an important functional role in the formulation of a wide range of convenience food products. The primary use of caseinate is as an encapsulating agent to provide a protein film to surround fat globules, often assisted by incorporation of a suitable emulsifying agent to aid orientation of the protein on to the fat surface. This film not only improves shelf-life but can assist the general stability and whippability of various fat emulsions. The most dramatic illustration of this film forming ability is in spray dried fats enabling dry storage of this important food ingredient. It also forms an important ingredient of toppings, dessert mixes, instant breakfasts and coffee whiteners. Calcium caseinate, less soluble than the sodium caseinate or potassium salt, is more sparingly used, but is of interest in some dietary applications.

Market for whey products
Today, there are three major reasons why dairies are looking at whey in a new way. The first is environmental legislation, that has put an effective stop to the sewage. The second is the fact that there are now highly efficient and cost-effective ways of refining whey into high-margin products and ingredients. And the third is that there are now plenty of applications in which these can be used. In other words, there is a hidden treasure in whey that is waiting to be discovered and exploited.

In the United States, only about 50 per cent of the total whey production is dried or processed into production of WPC, lactose derivative products and other products for use in formulating human food and animal food products. Balanced whey is treated by private municipal waste treatment, fed to livestock or spread on agriculture and use of a fertiliser. In Europe, 50 per cent whey is mainly utilised for whey powder whereas in the Netherlands, a large percentage of whey produced is utilised in products other than whey powder.

The global whey derivatives market is growing at around an average of 10 per cent annually, compared with only four per cent growth in the ingredients industry as a whole, and many sectors of the food and beverage industries are benefitting from the positive health benefits offered by this nature-derived ingredient. Global whey production in 2004 was 163 million metric tonnes and worth $3.4 billion in 2004.

The high-nutritional value of whey protein, plus its reported effects on specific conditions such as hypertension, cancer, HIV and high cholesterol, add to the appeal of whey as a nutritional ingredient. Furthermore, the high solubility and water binding properties of whey protein, plus its neutral colour and taste, mean that incorporation in everyday foods is simple and practical.

The increasing awareness of nutrition, health and quality food consciousness of consumers and the keen competition in the market, compel the food industry to search for those ingredients which impart specific functionalities to food products, while preserving or enhancing the nutritional quality of foodstuffs in order to sell their products profitably. In this context, the food industry has come to realise that milk proteins in general and whey proteins, in particular, have the potential to improve the quality of food products.

Whey protein ingredients are some of the complete sources of proteins and amino acids available in nature. Whey proteins possess excellent functional properties, high nutritive value and important biological functions. Worldwide whey proteins have been utilised in the development of infant foods, bakery product, sports nutrition, meat products, etc. The complete benefits of the whey proteins are yet to be explored by the Indian food industry. Indigenous effort is needed in utilising WPC/WPI in Indian traditional dairy and food products. This calls for more new product development, which suits the Indian palate. Isolation and utilisation of whey protein concentrate/whey protein isolate (WPC/WPI) not only solves the pollution problems of most dairy industries, but also gives advantages - health benefits to conscious consumers.

Whey production & processing
Whey the largest byproduct of the dairy industry obtained during the manufacture of cheese, paneer, chhana and shrikhand, contains about 10 per cent of total milk proteins and most of the water-soluble vitamins, lactose and minerals. In India, there has been a considerable increase in the recent past on the production of direct acidified indigenous milk products resulting in increased availability of whey. About three million tonne of whey is produced annually in India containing about two lakh tonne of valuable milk nutrients. At present, most of whey solids are usually drained off into the sewers, causing great loss of valuable nutrients and creating problems of environmental pollution. The discharge of whey into water streams without pre-treatment is not permitted because of high biological oxygen demand (BOD) value of whey, which varies from 30,000 to 60,000ppm. This high BOD of whey is a major threat to the environment and human health for which an effective and permanent solution is urgently needed. However, biological wastewater treatment technologies used for treating whey have been found to be too expensive. Recently, there has been a considerable increase in cheese production in India. Each kilogram of cheese produced will give about nine litre of whey and about 20 per cent of the total milk proteins get transferred to whey.

Importance of whey utilisation
It has higher biological value of 104 as compared to 100 of egg, which is considered, as an ideal protein source. Besides being rich in sulphur-containing amino acids, whey proteins also supply essential amino acids. Whey proteins can be used as functional food ingredients supplying the flavour, texture and colour and has good functional properties such as solubility, foaming and water binding. These properties are of immense importance in the manufacture of different whey-based beverages and/or producers. In the recent years, membrane processes like ultrafiltration (UF), reverse osmosis (RO) are gaining importance and have been commercially exploited for economic and efficient production of lactose, whey protein concentrate and whey powders. Whey protein concentrates have been widely applied in various food applications as shown in Fig. 1.

Whey protein is moving into every area, from infant foods to senior products, and whey products are very good at maintaining muscle mass, which is useful in areas such as cancer treatment or surgery recovery. The benefits are moving into the wider arena too.

“Whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate in high concentrations are performing strongly due to their use as both nutritional and functional ingredients.”

Whey was first introduced into foods and drinks to fulfil specific functions, such as skimmed milk replacement or emulsification. Whey use started in infant formula and sports nutrition (including shakes, bars and protein tablets). More recently, the use of whey protein in clinical nutrition has begun. Increasingly, the potential of whey protein as a fortifying nutritional ingredient to add value to everyday foods, such as yoghurts, beverages, cereals and snacks, is being uncovered.

“The high nutritional value of whey protein, plus its reported effects on specific conditions such as hypertension, cancer, HIV and high cholesterol, and to the appeal of whey as a nutritional ingredient.” Furthermore, the high solubility and water binding properties of whey protein, plus its neutral colour and taste, mean that incorporation in everyday foods is simple and practical.

The major use of demineralised whey powder is in humanising infant milks. Bovine milk is both low in the whey protein and high in mineral content, particularly sodium content. While it is impossible to duplicate human milk with its anti-infective properties, the use of demineralised whey enables a much better balance of protein lactose; mineral content to be attained. Demineralised whey also finds some application in baking and confectionery products.

Given below in Table 1 are functionality whey proteins in food products.

In whey beverages
By using whey as a raw material we can produce different products for varied purposes such as whey in different forms like liquid, concentrated, dried and fractionated and fermented products. Liquid whey can be used as animal feed, since the dairy situation is quite different and is scattered in the form of milk pockets throughout the country, the total whey output is limited in a particular region which may not serve as a suitable animal feed additive. An alternative means of whey utilisation could be the development of whey beverages with or without addition of fruit pulp. However, lactic acid fermentation using Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium sp. would be one of the attractive avenues for the production of fermented whey beverages having probiotic properties and helps in returning the wasted milk nutrients into the human food chain.

The major advantages offered by whey as a substrate for beverage production are that it has greater nutritive value and is more thirst-quenching, than most soft drinks and is less acidic than fruit juices.

A variety of whey-based drinks are commercially available and popular in European and Japanese markets. On the contrary, there are hardly few beverages commercially available in India and developments are still under trial. A technology for producing fermented whey beverage called “Acido Whey” has been standardised at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal. Whey beer beverages can also be produced where much of the malt is replaced by deproteinised whey. Whey beverages are compatible with many fruit-flavoured drinks. The shelf life of these can be upto six months at room temperature.

In cheeses
Whey is suitable for the propagation of lactic cultures used in the manufacture of various types of cheeses. In cheeses, whey proteins can be in creased by the use of UF-based cheese manufacturing technology, which involves initial concentration of cheese milk, by UF, During the coagulation process, whey proteins get trapped in the coagulum. As a result less moisture is expelled from the curd with increased retention of water soluble components of milk in cheese. By increasing the level of whey protein in corporation, the cheese yield and nutritive value of products are increased. This process has been widely applied for producing different cheese varieties, like Cheddar, Gouda, Mozzarella and cottage cheese.

In soups
In the recent years, whey-based ready-to-serve soups are gaining importance as convenience foods, which can serve as highly nutritious, energetic and refreshing foods. However, there is a paucity of information available on the standardisation and development of whey-based vegetable soups. A technology for whey-based mushroom soup was formulated at the National Dairy Research Institute. The soup was prepared using four per cent mushroom, five per cent corn flour, and 90 per cent of whey and was found to be more acceptable.

In baked foods
Use of whey in baked goods is claimed to improve the characteristics including flavour, colour, porosity, consistency and volume. In addition, baking losses and fermentation time were reduced and increase in the bread yield was observed. Dough fortified with one per cent WPC resulted in bread which showed a loaf volume depression of less than five per cent, while bread fortified with defatted WPC resulted in depression of 15 per cent, which indicated that lipid fraction in whey is indisable for baking properties of WPC in bread. Liquid whey can also be used in bakery and fried food products where the golden crust is important. It can also used in caramels, confections and candies to reduce sweetness, prolong shelf life and improve the nutritional quality. Upto 25 per cent of milk solids-not fat content of ice cream and other dairy-based frozen desserts can be replaced with dried whey without adversely altering their quality attributes. Upto 8-10 per cent lactose hydrolysed whey was used successfully for formulating ice-cream mix and to replace sweetened condensed milk in bakery and flavoured beverages.

In meat products
In the meat industry, whey proteins contribute desirable functional properties and have been extensively used as fillers, binders and extenders in comminuted meat products. These proteins improve the emulsifying capacity, emulsion stability, water binding and slicing characteristics with reduced cookshrink and formulation costs. They also significantly increase the gel strength of meat proteins by the synergistic effect between whey and meat proteins through covalent cross linkages. In sausages, the whey proteins help to increase the product yield and control flavour and protein losses. However, calcium present in whey has to be removed which interferes with the solubilisation and functionality of meat myofibrillar proteins. Partial demineralisation can be a suitable answer to overcome this problem.

In health foods
Whey protein hydrolysates produced by the action of proteases or acid hydrolysis can be used in various specialty food products. Examples include infant formulae to prevent an allergic response to intact proteins, enteral products for adults with conditions causing poor absorption of nutrients by the digestive system and various preparations used as dietary and nutritional supplements. The hydrophobic peptide content of the hydrolysates has potential functionality for altering the textural properties of food proteins, such as sterilisation of foams and emulsions and modification of gelation and viscosity. The oral use of protein hydrolysates is, however, limited by their often very bitter taste, so that they can only be added to food products at relatively low concentrations. Alcalase, an alkaline protease, having broad specificity with some preference for terminal hydrophobic amino acid was employed to produce debittered whey protein hydrolysates.

Probiotic dairy foods
The global probiotic products market generated $15.9 billion in 2008. More than 500 probiotic products have been introduced in the past decade. These products have received varying level of success, mostly in congruence with their overall health benefits. Taste and convenience are also expected important factors for securing market share. The probiotics market offers plentiful opportunities for functional food suppliers and manufacturers. Product innovations are expected to play a major role in increasing the share of the market players.

Bioactive peptides
Bioactive peptides derived from milk proteins have generated lot of interest among researchers across the world. Besides their disease- preventing ability in foods these peptides may also be utilised as dietary supplements. L helveticus NCDC-288 was used for fermentation of buffalo skim milk under standardised conditions. Gel fractions showing highest bioactivity was purified by RP-HPLC. Amino acid analysis of peptide fraction revealed that praline, glutamic acid, leucine, valine, serine, aspartic acid and isoleucine were present as major components. These amino acids were reported to be responsible for the bioactivities. Whey and whey supplemented with WPC were fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus NCDC 292. The antioxidative as well as ACE-inhibitory activity of whey proteins was increased nearly fivefold on fermentation with L helveticus. Feeding if fermented whey hydrolysates resulted in significant decrease in total IgE and ova-specific IgE levels in allergy induced mice by increasing the production of Th-1 cytokine (IL-2) and by decreasing Th-2 cytokines (IL-4) levels.

Lactoperoxidase and lactoferrin
Generally speaking, use of natural bioactive agents is of very great interest in products like infant formulae, health foods, skin creams and toothpaste. Examples of such components are the bioactive proteins lactoperoxidase (LP) and lactoferrin (LF) existing at low contents in whey, typically 20mg/l of LP and 35mg/l of LF.

Dietetic indigenous dairy products
Khoa channa-based confectionery like barfi, kalakand and rasogolla are among the most popular traditional dairy products, have their own distinguished niche in Indian diets during festive season as well as day-to-day life. Since these products contain high amounts of fat (20-25 per cent) and sugar (30-55 per cent), obese and diabetic people cannot relish the taste of this delicacy. Several low-fat and low-sugar delicacies have been developed by using fat and sugar replacers and bulking agents. A dietetic burfi with unique sweetness profile and excellent stability in the product is developed by using sucralose and milk protein-based fat replacers. Shelf life studies revealed that vacuum-packaged dietetic burfi can be stored without spoilage for 12 days at 30 degrees Centigrade and 40 days at five degrees Centigrade. Another investigation on determining the stability of aspartame in barfi revealed that addition of 650ppm of aspartame in barfi resembled control burfi in sweetness with 94 per cent recovery of aspartame when stored at 6-8 degrees Centigrade for seven days.

Gulab jamun is a khoa-based sweet and its preparation involves blending of khoa, refined wheat flour and baking powder into a homogenous mass so as to obtain smooth dough along with small amount of water.

The balls of the dough are deep-fried in ghee or refined vegetable oil to a golden brown colour and subsequently transferred to sugar syrup. Gulab jamun without sugar could be prepared withot affecting the quality of product by soaking of fried gulab jamun balls in sorbitol syrup added with aspartame at 0.25 per cent and maintained at 65 degrees Centigrade. A low-fat convenience gulab jamun mix has been also developed and the balls can be baked instead of frying for 25 per cent reduction in fat level.

Rasogolla is the most popular chhana-based Indian sweetmeat. Because of its pleasant and delightful taste, the fame of this sweet has not only spread throughout India but is becoming popular abroad as well. Quite a considerable quantity of this sweet is now being exported to the Middle-East and European countries from Bikaner and West Bengal. The use of sorbitol and aspartame was found to be optimum for cooking of rasogolla balls during the preparation of dietetic rasogolla. No signs of deterioration in terms of flavour, body, texture, colour, appearance and sweetness of the product were observed up to 20 days at refrigeration temperature and up to 15 days at ambient temperature.

The sweetened variety of dahi is popularly known as misti dahi or misthi doi. Misti dahi is creamish to light brown in colour, has a firm consistency, smooth texture and pleasant aroma. High-fat sugar contents in misti dahi pose a hurdle for its successful marketing. Highly-acceptable reduced fat misti dahi can be produced with three per cent fat and 15 per cent milk solids-not-fat (MSNF) in combination with maltodextrin as bulking agent. The product could be artificially sweetened using a binary blend of aspartame and acesulfame - K. Extensive work has also been done to develop the analytical methods for quantifying certain artificial sweeteners and their degradation products during heating or acidification in order to determine the potential toxicity.

Lassi is a traditional South Asian beverage, which originated in Punjab (India and Pakistan). It is made by blending dahi with water, salt and slices until frothy. The sugar content in lassi was reduced by 50 per cent using binary blend of artificial sweeteners and the lassi had an appreciable shelf-life. Technologies for whey-fruit based beverages and soups have already been standardised for effective utilisation of whey, a major by-product of the dairy industry. It also appears to be the most logical way for utilising valuable milk nutrients. Sports drink based on whey permeate with balanced osmo-molality and electrolyte content is also developed, which cloud serve a better substitute of synthetic energy drinks. Technologies for certain whey-based drinks have already been commercialised and are available in the marketplace. Malted milk foods constitute a major segment of the health food market, but currently available products are in dried formulation. A process for the manufacture of calcium-enriched malted milk beverages in various flavours has also been developed at the institute. The beverage is a healthy option to those who skip breakfast.

Composite dairy foods
Interesting combinations of milk and dairy products with cereals, vegetables, fruits and other ingredients are opening the doors to large-scale opportunities and indefinite possibilities of novel foods. In India, there are few traditional dairy products that contain significant quantities of non-dairy components, e.g. Gajar-Pak (carrot halwa), Giya-ka-halwa (bottle gourd halwa), Doda barfi, and Kaju barfi. Traditionally made desserts like kheer and dalia-dessert are most appropriate examples of composite dairy foods where addition of non-dairy solids enhance the nutritional quality by providing calorie, micronutrients and fibre. The technologies for the manufacture of bajra, sorghum, wheat and barley lassi at our institute could be utilised for the diversification of product profile. Similarly, fruit dahi and fruit lassi are other added attraction for industry personnel. Several innovative products such as whey protein-enriched millet biscuits, snacks and fermented foods are becoming popular among people.

Dietetic products
Among the many dry dairy products classified as dietetic the 900–calorie and complete meal preparations have received the most attention in recent years. They provide people limiting their calorie intake nutritionally-balanced foods. The general procedure in manufacture of such products is to fortify skimmed milk with a protein such as sodium caseinate along with vitamins, minerals and other essential growth factors. Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry are some of the common flavourings which may be added for taste appeal.

Slimmers-protein
100 gm Slimmers-protein has only about 350 calories. A drink made of 30-35 gm slimmers-protein mixed with 200 ml skimmed milk or water has a neutral taste. It is well-adapted as a meal or in-between-meal for overweight people become of its filling effect and its high content of essential nutri-active substances.

Instant breakfast
A large market has been developed for powders consisting of mixtures of skimmed milk powder, sweeteners, thickeners, flavours, vitamins and minerals. When dissolved in a glass of white milk, they are said to provide the required nourishment for an instant breakfast. A wide variety of flavours are used, such as cocoa or vanilla.

Malted food beverages
Malted powders are preferable for beverages in homes and restaurants. The confectionery industry is also malted. It is also a popular food for invalids. Malted food beverages is rich source of readily available carbohydrates. The cereals proteins originally present are partially digested during the malting process. It is also a good source of mineral salts, vitamins A and B-complex. It can be flavoured with cocoa or vanilla. Milk food beverages can also be developed using vegetable protein sources.

Mango, banana milkshake powder
Consumption of fruits together with milk has for long been considered an important health-giving diet. In India, mango and banana are grown in large quantities and are also being consumed in the form of milkshakes, especially in the urban areas. Powder milkshakes containing fruit pulp can be manufactured. Both the fruit milk powders maintain their flavour, colour and reconstituability during shortage.

Miscellaneous powders
Many new products such as chocolate crumb, measured calorie products, sport shakes, high-energy foods, mango and banana milk powder, hot cocoa mixes, dietetic and slimmer products swell the growing number of dairy powders in response to the demands of food processors.

Conclusion
Current food processing trends as well as inflow of new foods into the market are driven by consumers’ choices and novel technologies. Within the next twenty years, the world population is expected to increase by two billion people, the majority of whom would be youths and urban. Further, worldwide non-communicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer have become major health problem due to the changing lifestyle and dietary patterns among people. As a consequence, interesting changes can be expected in the way dairy and food products are processed, packaged and marketed. In general, the functional attributes of foods are enhanced by incorporating in them certain ingredients that possess health promoting benefits. A recent survey conducted by a leading management firm in South Asia revealed that the health and wellness foods market in India is projected to increase from current Rs 10, 150 crore to Rs 55,000 crore by the year 2015.

(The author is senior dairy consultant. He can be contacted at jvparekh72@yahoo.com)