Valorization of dairy by-products for functional and nutritional applications: recent trends toward the milk fat globule membrane
Abstract
The demand for dairy products is increasing in a number of countries, for example, in China, India, and Brazil, resulting in the development of the dairy industry and increases in the generation of by-products and wastes. Valorization of by-products in the milk processing industry is of the utmost importance. The main by-products of the milk industry, including whey from cheese making, skimmed milk, and buttermilk from butter making, contain components with functional properties and nutritional interest that can be isolated by processing technology and reused in end-products or as ingredients in the formulation of other food products for animal feed and human/or nutrition or valorized for nonnutritional applications. In recent years interest has grown for the valorization of buttermilks that are rich in milk fat globule membrane, that is, the biological membrane enveloping fat globules in milk. This chapter discusses recent trends in the valorization of by-products from the dairy industry.