AGGREGATION OF WHEY PROTEINS IN HEATED SWEET WHEY

Aggregation of whey protein after heat treatment was examined for sweet whey prepared from bulk whole milk and milk containing the A, the B, or both variants of beta-lactoglobulin by size exclusion chromatography. Both soluble and insoluble protein aggregates formed after heat treatments, the proportions of each being dependent on pH. Changes in phosphate and lactose concentrations had no significant effect, whereas the amount of insoluble protein aggregate was found to increase with increasing concentrations of calcium. The quantity of soluble protein aggregate was greatest in the whey containing the B variant of beta-lactoglobulin, while the quantity of insoluble protein aggregate was greatest in the whey containing the A variant.