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Interesting Fact: Everything starts with milk. Cow’s milk is 80% casein and 20% whey proteins. In comparison, human milk is 40% casein and 60% whey. |
Today hundreds of companies market whey protein supplements. It is almost impossible for most consumers to determine which whey protein supplement is best suited and why.
Not to worry, we are here to help! This article will detail the entire whey protein manufacturing process and help you determine what is whey protein and which whey protein is best for you.
Whey Protein Manufacturers
Whey protein manufacturers are typically cheese making companies. Reason being is that whey is a by product of cheese making. Some of these companies are Davisco foods, Milk Specialties, Land O’ Lakes, Fonterra, Hilmar, Agropur etc…
Nutritional Supplements Manufacturers
The nutritional supplement companies purchase whey protein from manufacturers, add artificial flavors, sweeteners, package and market under their own name. More often than not companies will mix proteins, add other ingredients and market their products as a proprietary formula. That is done to lower the production price and to throw off consumers into thinking that there is a magic formula/proprietary formula. There isn’t. In reality whey protein comes in two forms; concentrate and isolate. The whey protein concentrate contains up to 89% protein (typically around 80%). The whey protein isolate contains at least 90% protein. The highest purity is ion exchange whey protein isolate which has 97-98% protein. Needless to say that isolate is more expensive than concentrate. Mixing isolate and concentrate produces concentrate, a lower cost and a lower quality product.
Curd from milk coagulation.
What is Whey?
Whey is a byproduct of cheese making.
All cheese making starts with milk. The milk is curdled by letting it sour or coagulate. Coagulation is typically done by adding rennet (enzymes used by mammals to digest mother’s milk) or acidic substances such as vinegar or lemon juice. This results in solid masses and liquid. The solid masses are curds and the liquid is whey. The curds are used to make cheese. The whey is used to make whey protein or other whey products.
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Interesting Fact: Liquid whey typically contains 93% water, 5.2% lactose, 1% protein, 0.6% minerals and 0.2% fat. In other words, it takes 100 grams of whey to get 1 gram of whey protein. |
What is Whey Protein?
Whey protein is filtered from whey liquid using one of the filtration methods. Once filtered, whey protein is typically spray dryed to turn into a powder.
Whey Protein Isolate Filtration
Membrane Filtration
The most common and the cheapest filtration method is membrane filtration aka micro/ultra filtration. This process uses membrane filters to trap proteins. The membrane filters wear out over time. This leads to inconsistent production quality where protein content can greatly vary depending on when it was manufactured. The typical concentration of membrane filtered whey protein isolate is 90-92% on a dry basis.
Cross Flow Filtration
The second most common whey filtration process is Cross Flow micro filtration. As opposed to the membrane filtration where whey is passed into a filter, in Cross Flow filtration whey is passed across the surface of the filter instead of into a filter. This technique does not clog the filter and leads to a consistently higher quality whey protein. The pioneer in Cross Flow Micro filtration CFM® is Glanbia Nutritionals. Glanbia uses a patented CFM® process and ceramic filters that yield better protein concentration than membrane filtering. The typical concentration in cross filtered whey protein isolate is 93% on a dry basis.
Ion Exchange Isolation
The third process is called ion exchange and is patented by Davisco foods. Due to the patent, in the USA, only Davisco foods can manufacture ion exchange whey isolate. This process uses electrical charge to separate the whey protein from the whey liquid. This technique leads to the highest purity, highest BCAA concentration and highest quality protein available. This quality comes at a price; ion exchange whey isolates is one of the most expensive whey protein isolates on the market. The typical concentration of ion exchange whey protein isolate is 97-98% on a dry basis.
Turning Whey Protein into a Powder
Once the protein is filtered it is turned into powder form. This is typically done by spray drying whey protein. In spray drying, whey protein is sprayed using a special nozzle (atomizer) and is dryed in the air using hot gases. This is a consistent way of turning whey protein into a powder.
Testing Whey Protein Isolate
The manufacturers perform microbiological analysis on each batch. The analysis checks for signs of salmonella, E coli, listeria and other biological elements. In addition, manufacturers perform chemical analysis to determine protein content, amino acid profile, moisture level, fat, ash, pH level, etc…
We publish sample analysis for all protein we sell.
At this stage whey protein is in a powder form and is ready for consumption. It is water soluble and tasteless.
Marketing
The nutritional supplement manufacturers purchase whey protein isolate and repackage it into smaller and flashier containers. They often add artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, artificial bulking agents. More often than not, manufacturers dilute whey protein isolate with whey concentrates or other cheaper proteins (e.g. soy protein). Always check the ingredients of the protein supplements.
There are some manufacturers that sell pure undiluted protein. One of them is BiPro USA, spectacular Whey Protein Isolate from from Davisco.
Buy The Best Quality
We urge you to check the ingredients and sources of all supplements you buy. Remember that nutritional supplements are not regulated by FDA. Nutritional companies are free to sell any supplement and make any claim.
NSF Certified for Sport
The best supplements are NSF Certified for Sport™. Certified products minimize the risk that the supplement or nutrition product contains a substance banned by the major sports organizations. NSF tests and certifies that these products contain the identity and quantity of dietary ingredients declared on the product label, but do not contain unacceptable quantities of unwanted contaminants for the recommended serving size listed on the product label.
BiPro (ion exchange whey protein isolate) sold at VNC (www.lbexim.com) is NSF certified for sport.
VNC - Power to you!
At VNC we go the extra step to deliver only the best quality protein in its purest form. We do not believe in fooling the consumer with flashy packaging and misleading statements. Our proteins and our sources are fully disclosed. You know exactly what you are getting and exactly what you are paying for. Keep it simple & pure.
