Evaluation of arabinoxylan isolated from sorghum bran, biomass, and bagasse for film formation.

Arabinoxylans (AX) are potential agricultural co-products for material applications. Sorghum has seen increased production as a bioenergy crop for biofuel and co-product generation. AX from three sorghum fractions (bran, bagasse, and biomass) were isolated to study film formation.

Effect of heat and homogenization on in vitro digestion of milk.

Central to commercial fluid milk processing is the use of high temperature, short time (HTST) pasteurization to ensure the safety and quality of milk, and homogenization to prevent creaming of fat-containing milk. Ultra-high-temperature sterilization is also applied to milk and is typically used to extend the shelf life of refrigerated, specialty milk products or to provide shelf-stable milk. The structures of the milk proteins and lipids are affected by processing but little information is available on the effects of the individual processes or sequences of processes on digestibility.

Short communication: Electrospinning of casein/pullulan blends for food-grade applications.

Electrospinning is a complex process that produces fibers with diameters on the micrometer or nano-scale from an electrified jet of a polymer solution. The objective of this study was to create electrospun fibers for food use from aqueous solutions of calcium (CaCAS) or sodium caseinate (NaCAS). Fibers were not formed from electrospinning of solutions of either caseinate (CAS) at 50 °C, but were formed from blends of either CAS solution with aqueous solutions of the food-grade polysaccharide, pullulan (PUL), when using mass ratios from 2:1 to 1:4 of PUL/CAS.

Computer simulation of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and costs for alternative methods of processing fluid milk.

Computer simulation is a useful tool for benchmarking electrical and fuel energy consumption and water use in a fluid milk plant. In this study, a computer simulation model of the fluid milk process based on high temperature, short time (HTST) pasteurization was extended to include models for processes for shelf-stable milk and extended shelf-life milk that may help prevent the loss or waste of milk that leads to increases in the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for fluid milk. The models were for UHT processing, crossflow microfiltration (MF) without HTST pasteurization, crossflow MF followed by HTST pasteurization (MF/HTST), crossflow MF/HTST with partial homogenization, and pulsed electric field (PEF) processing, and were incorporated into the existing model for the fluid milk process.

Enrichment and Purification of Casein Glycomacropeptide from Whey Protein Isolate Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Processing and Membrane Ultrafiltration.

Whey protein concentrates (WPC) and isolates (WPI), comprised mainly of β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), α-lactalbumin (α-LA) and casein glycomacropeptide (GMP), are added to foods to boost nutritional and functional properties. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO₂) has been shown to effectively fractionate WPC and WPI to obtain enriched fractions of α-LA and β-LG, thus creating new whey ingredients that exploit the properties of the individual component proteins. In this study, we used SCO₂ to further fractionate WPI via acid precipitation of α-LA, β-LG and the minor whey proteins to obtain GMP-enriched solutions.