The Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit

Dr. Peggy M. Tomasula

Research Leader

USDA/ARS/ERRC/DPPRU

600 E. Mermaid Ln

Wyndmoor, PA 19038

215-233-6703

Management Units

-Crop Conversion Science & Engineering - Kevin Hicks

-Dairy Processing and Products – Peggy Tomasula

-Fats, Oils, & Animal Co-Products - Bill Marmer

-Food Safety & Intervention Technologies – Don Thayer

-Microbial Biophysics & Residue Chemistry – Shu-I Tu

-Microbial Food Safety – John Luchansky

Resources - Unique Facilities

– Food, Dairy, & Bioengineering Pilot Plants

– Leather Research Tannery

– Wool Utilization Research Laboratory

– Botulism Research Laboratory

Resources - Unique Facilities

– Irradiation Laboratories

– Cesium-137, Gamma Radiation, 1 Million Curies

– Fruit Processing Pilot Plant (BL-2)

– Pathogen Compatible Food Processing Suite (BL-2)

Resources - Core Technologies

- Research Data Systems Unit – Bill Damert

- Microscopic Imaging Unit – Peter Cooke

- Scientific Information Resources Unit – Wendy Kramer

- Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Unit – Janine Brouillette

- Nucleic Acid Sequencing Unit – Connie Briggs

Technology Transfer Partnership

ARS’ MissionCollaborator’s

Interests

Area of Interaction

Jerry Crawford, Ph.D.Technology Transfer Coordinator

The Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit

Mission – To apply knowledge of the chemistry of milk to the development of new methods and processes to increase its utilization and safety.

http://www.arserrc.gov/dp

Who is the Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit and What

Do We Do?

The Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit

• Only group in ARS doing “postharvest” research on milk – farm to table

• Over 60 years of pioneering research on dairy science, specialized instrumentation, and new process development

• Perform long term research only • Personnel – 13 researchers – chemists, engineers,

food scientists, molecular biologists and 13 support scientists

Types of Dairy Research at ERRC

• Dairy Food Processing and Development• Dairy Starter Culture/Biotechnology• Dairy Food Quality and Preservation• Dairy Food Science and Technology• Biosecurity of Milk and Dairy Products• Support USDA and other action agencies (School

Lunch Program, Food for Peace, APHIS, the Military) • Share expertise and resources with our stakeholder

groups, our customers, and universities through CRADAS, trust agreements, and licenses.

Selected Accomplishments: ERRC Dairy Program

• Reduced lactose and lactose-free milk (Lactaid) and other products

Low-fat Mozzarella Cheese

• ERRC Mozzarella cheese has < 10% fat, melts well and has good texture.

• Used by the School Lunch Program, sales have reached over 23M pounds with an estimated value of $34.5M.

DPPRU Collaborators

The Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit, ERRC

Cal PolyCornellFort Valley St.LangstonNorth Carolina StPenn StateRutgersUniversity of ArkansasUniversity of DelawareUniversity of HawaiiUniversity of WisconsinUtah State University

Universities ARS

AthensBeltsvilleNCAURPenn StatePIADC

Other GovtAPHISFDANatickForeignCIAD, MexMooreparkEmbrapa, Br.

Stakeholder Groups

NMPFDFADMIIDFA

Companies

Devine FoodsEnerGeneticsGrande CheeseM&M MarsSMBIDupontAirLiquide

Molecular Basis for Improved Milk Protein Based Dairy Products

Use of Novel Processing Methods toDevelop Specialty CheesesWith Unique Functional Properties

New and ImprovedProcesses to Foster Utilization of Milk Components

Development of Lactic Fermentation Bacteria for the Production of Bioactive Food Ingredients

Protein Processing Using High Pressure Gases and Supercritical Fluids

Current Project Titles

Biosecurity of Milk from the Farm to the Dairy Processing Plant

Processing Methods for Specialty Cheese with Unique Functional Properties

Lead Scientist – D. VanHekken; M. Tunick; D. Olson; A. Bricker ; P. Tomasula

Why Hispanic-Style Cheeses?

• Growing Hispanic population in the US and a demand for this style of cheese for use by the food service industry.

• Functional and textural property data for these cheeses do not exist. No “standard of identity” definitions.

• Many are fresh style varieties and techniques are needed to extend their shelf-life for sale in the US and ensure their safety.

Objectives• Establish the properties of 3 selected Hispanic-style cheeses made

from raw or pasteurized milk. • Determine influence of proteolytic breakdown system on the

properties of the cheeses by either starter culture or indigenous microflora.

• Identify the cheesemaking steps that are key elements in developing the desired characteristics in these cheeses and that meet

US standards and retain properties of raw milk cheeses. • Develop cheesemaking procedures to extend the shelf life

of selected fresh – Hispanic style cheeses.

• Determine the flavor components and generate flavor profiles to define the cheeses. Identify microorganisms in the raw milk cheeses and evaluate their impact on flavor development.

Characterize Hispanic-style cheeses - pasteurized milk

Cheeses of interest– Soft - Queso Blanco, Queso Fresco, Panela– Semi-hard - Asadero, Oaxaca,

Menonita/Chihuahua™ – Hard - Cotija

Properties of interest- Functional - melt, color change

- Textural - TPA, torsion, viscoelastic

Soft cheesesQueso Blanco, Queso Fresco, Queso Blanco, Queso Fresco,

PanelaPanela

High moisture (45-58%), full fat (18-30%), High moisture (45-58%), full fat (18-30%),

protein (17-22%), salt 1-3%protein (17-22%), salt 1-3%

pH 6.3pH 6.3

Does not melt Does not melt

Good slicing and crumbling propertiesGood slicing and crumbling properties

Queso BlancoQueso Blanco

acid or rennet setacid or rennet set

Queso Fresco Queso Fresco rennet set, curd rennet set, curd

finely milled finely milled before saltingbefore salting

Panela Panela Combination acid Combination acid

and rennet set, and rennet set, CaClCaCl2 2 addedadded

Semi-hard CheesesAsadero, Oaxaca, Asadero, Oaxaca,

Mennonita/Quesadilla/ChihuahuaMennonita/Quesadilla/Chihuahua™™

medium moisture 40-48%, full fat 18-30%medium moisture 40-48%, full fat 18-30%protein 21-30%, salt 0.8-2.3% protein 21-30%, salt 0.8-2.3%

pH 5.0-5.5pH 5.0-5.5

Mesophilic starter cultures, rennet setMesophilic starter cultures, rennet setExcellent melt and slicing propertiesExcellent melt and slicing properties

Asadero Asadero add acid whey after add acid whey after

rennetrennetPasta filata stepPasta filata step

OaxacaOaxacaPasta filata Pasta filata

stepstep

MennonitaMennonitaCheddar Cheddar

stepstep

Collaboration with researchers at Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo,Cuauhtemoc, (CIAD) Chihuahua, Mexico

Functional Properties

Examine cooking propertiesExamine cooking propertiesMelting ability Melting ability

Color changes when broiled or Color changes when broiled or bakedbaked

Meltability

Blanco/

Fresco Panela

Cotija

QuesadillaOaxaca

0

1

2

3

Cheese

Me

lt

Mexican Mennonite cheeses made in Chihuahua, Mexico

Raw vs pasteurized milkCheeses from 13 manufacturers

Evaluated: CompositionRheological properties

Rheological PropertiesShear Rigidity (kPa)

Range Average raw 11-52 36

pasteurized 24-72 49

0

20

40

60

80

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

Shear Strain

Sh

ea

r S

tre

ss

(k

Pa

)

Raw milk cheese Pasteurized milk cheese

PRA

SensoryTraining panelists at ERRC to identify

flavors in fresh Hispanic-style cheeses.

Collaboration with MaryAnne Drake, NCSU

Sensory Data for a Hispanic Cheese

Basic and young flavors Aged flavors

012345

Brothy

Fruity

Free FattyAcid

Nutty

Sulfur

012345

Bitter

Sweet

Sour

Salty

Umami(MSG)

Milkfat

Cooked

Buttery

Whey

Preliminary Composition Data

Fat/ Grasas

30%

Protein/

Proteinas

25%

Moisture/

Humedad

40%

Other/Otro

5%

0

10

20

30

40

50P

erc

en

t

(%)

Other/Otro Protein/Proteinas Fat/Grasas Moisture/Humedad

Texture of Chihuahua Cheese

How well do the Chihuahua – Chester cheeses cluster

0

20

40

60

80

100

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0

Shear Strain

Sh

ea

r S

tre

ss (

kP

a)

Food Safety Focal Points at ERRC

Raw Material

Slaughter Fabricate Process

Finished Product

• Chemical (Na Lactate)

• Mechanical (Design change)

Interventions• Physical (Irradiation)

• Biological (LAB)

Recovery/Characterization• Biosensors (Micro. & Immuno)

• Nucleic Acid (PCR, PFGE)

• Genomics & Proteomics

Modeling• Predictive Microbiology

(PMP, ComBase, CEMMI)

DPPRU Projects

• Determination of effectiveness of pasteurization in elimination of FMD Virus from milk – with Plum Island Animal Disease Center

• Evaluation of microbial pathogen food safety of fresh cheeses – Queso Fresco- shelf life studies, and interventions - with Microbial Food Safety RU.

ERRC Food Safety Collaborative Projects - Brazil

• Collaboration with Embrapa Dairy Cattle Center and the Dairy Technology Institute

• Developing specifications and evaluating safety of soft cheeses.

• Bacteriocins with activity against Salmonella and Listeria

• Survey of Food Safety Farm to Slaughter for Salmonella, Listeria, and E.Coli 0157:H7.

In Summary

The Dairy Processing and Products RU at ERRC maintains a multidisciplinary group of dairy professionals:

• To respond to the critical needs of our stakeholders

• To anticipate the needs of the dairy industry by incorporating new ideas in chemistry and biotechnology into processing, for the consumer of tomorrow

• To ensure the continued quality, utilization and safety of milk and milk products

U. S. Whey Products Range

Lactose derivatives

Lactose Sweet whey Modified Wheys

Permeate Whey Fractions

WPIs

WPCs

Feed

Food

Pharma Calcium

$0.37 - $5.00/ kg $0.35-0.50/ kg $1.5-2.0/ kg

>$500$1-10/ kg

$5-6.0/kg

New and Improved Processes to Foster Utilization of Milk Components

Lead Scientist – C. Onwulata; R. Konstance

Objectives1) Develop thermal and non-thermal extrusion-based processes that denature and functionalize milk proteins to create texturized casein and whey protein ingredients. 2) Develop process protocols for texturizing milk proteins through non-extrusion shear processes.

Why Extrusion?

• A twin-screw extruder, with its shearing screws operating at various speeds, uses mechanical and heat energy to cook, mix, pump and ultimately change the texture of dairy products.

• Low – shear processing – for pasta and doughs

• High-shear processing – for puffed products

Research Approach:

• Use new extrusion processing techniques to create texturized products based mainly on whey and nonfat dry milk

• Use other shear –based processes that manipulate the structure of whey proteins with other food ingredients.

Potential Products:

• Simulated Meat Products

• Meat extenders

• Functionalized protein products for inclusion in snack foods and meal-replacement bars

Protein Processing UsingHigh Pressure Gases and Supercritical Fluids

Lead Scientist – PM Tomasula; MF Kozempel

Objectives1) Design a new environmentally-benign process for producing enriched fractions of the whey proteins2) Develop new environmentally-benign processes for dairy protein modification that utilize supercritical fluids as reac- tion media and carriers.3) Develop new, cost effective technologies for processing protein fractions into non-food products

Why Use Carbon Dioxide?

• It’s an environmentally benign solvent in large supply; it’s cheap; it’s GRAS; and it can be reclaimed for re-use in the process.

Research Approach

• Use high pressure and supercritical carbon dioxide in new processes:

• to isolate casein from milk• to produce enriched fractions of the whey proteins • modify dairy proteins for food applications And • Investigate processing of dairy proteins for nonfood applications

Potential Products

• Increased utilization of milk and whey by creation of new protein products

• New technologies for dairy protein utilization

• Increased utilization of milk and milk products in nonfood products

Development of Lactic Fermentation Bacteria for the Production of Bioactive Food Ingredients

Lead Scientist – G. Somkuti

1) Develop lactic fermentation bacteria with the capacity to overproduce biologically active ingredients from milk proteins for improving the nutraceutical, functional and biopreservative properties of dairy foods2) Develop techniques for optimized and cost effective production of milk protein components by microbial technology and assess their impact on the quality and marketability of value-added dairy foods.

Objectives:

What are Bioactive Peptides?

• Bioactive peptides are the peptides generated from the native proteins in milk during the digestion process when milk or other dairy products are consumed. However, they are produced in small quantities.

Properties of Bioactive Peptides:

• Antihypertensive

• Antithrombotic

• Opioid

• Immunomodulatory

• Antitumor

• Antimicrobial

Research Approach:

• Use lactic fermentation bacteria to produce

large quantities of bioactive peptides for the

food and pharmaceutical companies.

Molecular Basis for Improved Milk Protein Based Dairy Products

Lead Scientist – H. Farrell; P. Hoagland; P. Qi; E. Malin

Objective – To elucidate the basic milk protein structural motifs responsible for protein-protein interactions in milk and dairy products, especially for lowfat cheeses.

Physical-chemical basis for protein functionality is evaluated and computer molecular models are used to augment interpretation of the structural information at the molecular level. Environmental factors influencing protein folding and micelle assembly in vitro are used to predict milk protein secretion in vivo.

Molecular Modeling

• Provides knowledge of the molecular basis for

structure/function behavior of dairy products and the ability to predict this behavior.

• Especially useful in the design of low-fat products where the functionality of the product relies on protein-protein interactions that replace the role of the fat.