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bioweb.sungrant.org » Technical » Biomass Resources » Agricultural Resources » Processing and Food Wastes » Whey

Whey	Printer Friendly

Whey is a co-product of cheese production. It is the liquid that remains after the milk is curdled to produce the cheese. The whey contains proteins, some fat, and carbohydrates (mainly lactose). These products can be separated and concentrated. Whey proteins are used in the domestic food industry, as livestock feed, and exported (U.S. Dairy Export Council, n.d.). However, the whey and whey proteins can potentially be used to produce bioenergy and bioproducts (Frear, 2004; Hutchinson, 2003). In 2004, a total of 1.03 billion pounds of dry whey were produced (949 million pounds for human use and 86 million pounds for livestock feed); in 2005, 1.05 billion pounds were produced (964 million for human consumption and 82.1 million for livestock feed). New York, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin are the largest producers of whey used for animal feed and account for about 37% of production. Prices for dried whey used in livestock feed ranged from $0.162 to $0.281 per pound in 2004 and from $0.226 to $0.292 per pound in 2005 (USDA-NASS, 2006).

References
Frear, Craig, Bioprocessing and bioproducts development at Washington State University, Northwest Renewable Energy Festival, September 24, 2004. Hutchinson, Fiona M., Joseph V. Balagtas, John M. Krochta, Daniel A. Sumner, Potential gains to producers from new uses for whey, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, AIC Issues Brief, No. 20, February, 2003. U.S. Dairy Export Council, (n.d.). Reference Manual for U.S. Whey and Lactose Products, Veronique Lagrange (editor). U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Dairy Products—2005 Summary, Da 2-1 (06), April 2006.