Functional fermented whey carrot beverage - qualitative, nutritive and techno-economic analysis

Abstract

The main objectives of the paper were to investigate the possibility of use of carrot juice in the production of functional fermented whey based beverage, to simulate and economically evaluate the production process and the possibility for it inclusion in the process of cheese production. Quality of produced whey carrot beverage was evaluated trough the estimation of pH value, titratable acidity, syneresis, viscosity, sensory value, antioxidant activity and viable cell count of probiotic bacteria. The production process was simulated and economically evaluated using SuperPro Designer 5.1 software. Based on the results, the integrated cheese/whey carrot beverage production process showed greater economic viability compared to the basic cheese production process. Integrated process of cheese/whey carrot beverage production allows a fast return of capital (0.15 years), high net present value - NPV (10464.04) and internal rate of return - IRR (384.61) values. Obtained whey carrot beverage with following quality parameters: antioxidant activity 90.5%, viable cell count 8.7 log (CFU/mL), pH value 4.6, titratable acidity 20.0 degrees SH, syneresis 66.7%, viscosity 2.693 cP and sensory value 8.97 represents the beverage with great potential in consumer acceptance. Integration of beverage production line into the cheese production process, delivers the product with improved quality, which can meet the sophisticated consumer's demands and can increase the overall profit of the dairy industry.