1031
CASEINOMACROPEPTIDE INDEX (CMP), MICROBIOLOGY AND PROTEIN CONTENT OF UHT CHOCOLATE MILK-WHEY-BASED DRINKS IN BRAZIL
Ultra high temperature (UHT) milk-whey-based-drinks are obtained by processing a mix of milk and cheese whey. In Brazil, this may additionally be added of food ingredients, vegetable fat, and other milk derivatives. The intake of this product is popular among children in Brazil, and it is commonly used to replace milk consumption. Consequently, nutritional concerns emerge because of the low protein content due to whey addition. The objective of this work was to evaluate the protein content and microbial contamination, and to estimate the caseinomacropeptide index (CMP) of this beverage. Fifty-six samples of UHT chocolate milk-whey-based drinks from seven dairy plants, and eight production lots each were collected in the city of Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil) and analyzed for protein content (Kjeldahl), CMP index by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and count of aerobic mesophilic bacteria (total plate count). Descriptive statistics was used. All samples were in compliance with Brazilian standards for aerobic mesophilic countings (<1.0 CFU/mL). Average CMP index (mg/L), and protein content (g/100g) for the seven brands are showed in Table. Samples with higher CMP index were correlated with lower protein content (Pearson correlation of -0.7 at p=0.07), as expected. Although protein content results were in compliance with Brazilian legislation, the low levels found in several samples are indicative of potential low protein intake by children with high consumption of this food.
Brand |
CMP (mg/L) |
Protein (g/100g) |
A |
912.5+ |
1.15+ |
B |
646.31+ |
2.06+ |
C |
611.24+ |
2.93+ |
D |
566.64+ |
2.04+ |
E |
498.93+ |
1.73+ |
F |
332.67+ |
2.93+ |
G |
328.23+ |
2.49+ |
Keywords: milk-whey-based-drinks; caseinomacropeptide index, protein content, microbiology