Block freeze concentration by centrifugation and vacuum increases the content of lactose‐free milk macronutrients

Abstract

Lactose‐free milk is rising in popularity among consumers due to its claim to be a better digestible product compared to regular fluid milk. For that reason, concentrating on this food is a good alternative for increasing its versatility and usability in different dairy industry segments. Block freeze concentration (BFC) is a simple technology used to concentrate liquid foods through ice crystal formation and subsequent removal of water. Thus, this work aimed to test two variants of the BFC technique on lactose‐free milk concentration. In the first approach, it was investigated the centrifugation‐assisted BFC of skim lactose‐free milk by applying a factorial experimental design. Temperature, time, and rotation speed were the factors, and the response variables included the concentrate yield, concentration index, and efficiency of the process. Concentrate yield and concentration index were mainly affected by the centrifugation temperature. On the other hand, individual factors did not have a significant effect on the efficiency, only their interactions. In the case of centrifugation‐assisted BFC in a single step, the condition at 40°C, 70 min, and 4500 rpm was considered the best, given the highest values of efficiency and concentrate yield (80.87 and 67.02, respectively), and still an excellent value for concentration index (2.05). Conversely, the condition at 30°C, 45 min, and 3500 rpm was chosen to integrate a freeze concentration process in two stage. Then, the ice obtained from the first cycle was subjected to the vacuum‐assisted BFC, which consisted in the second cycle. The concentrate obtained from the vacuum‐assisted BFC presented contents of total solids, carbohydrates, and protein 2.95, 3.00, and 2.91 times more than the initial lactose‐free milk, respectively. Therefore, we believe that the concentrates obtained can be used for the development of innovative lactose‐free dairy products. Practical Application Using concentration processes in the dairy industry can significantly contribute to enhancing the overall efficiency of milk processing since huge quantities of water from milk can be reduced, increasing the total solids content. In turn, dairy products that provide a high amount of solids (especially protein) are gaining in popularity among consumers, with consequent interest from researchers. In addition, milk concentration shows advantages in terms of processing, packaging, transportation, and handling. Since most changes occur in an aqueous environment, the removal of some parts of water results in the preservation of milk. It is noteworthy that dairy industries are concerned principally with food preservation, green technologies, and the production of high‐quality products. Thus, concentration processes could favor the development of milk products rich in proteins to meet certain demands on functional and nutritional properties, for example in beverages and formulated food.

Advances in Low-Lactose/Lactose-Free Dairy Products and Their Production

“…Apart from direct addition of calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D, there are other ways to increase the nutritional value of lactose-free dairy products. For example, Dantas et al [ 120 ] increased the carbohydrate and protein content of lactose-free milk by 2.95 and 3.00 times, respectively, through a freezing concentration process. da Silva et al [ 121 ] replaced milk powder with lactose-free whey protein concentrate, which increased the protein and calcium content of Greek yogurt while improving the rheological and sensory properties of the product.…”