Top 5 Indispensable Enzymes For Dairy Industry

Posted by yashi ganguly on June 22nd, 2017

The modern biotechnology has revolutionized the food industry. Indeed the enzymes are the backbone of the food industry as they have wide application in enhancing flavor, texture and other properties of the food products. Apart from this, they help develop altogether new product which can be a salable proposition in its own right. In fact, most of these dairy enzymes are used at home but when they are produced and used on the industrial scale they become game changer of sorts. Indeed dairy industry is a billion dollars of industry which have enzymes as its basis.

There are many industrial applications that result in biotech products that we use every day at home. Many of the dairy enzymes are used to produce or improve the quality of different foods. In the dairy industry, enzymes are required for the production of cheeses, yogurt, and many other dairy products. They are also used to improve or change the color, texture and flavor of the end product.

Enzyme manufacturers in India are now producing all five of the essential enzymes which are being widely used in Dairy industry. These are as follows:

1. Rennet

Milk contains proteins, specifically caseins, that maintain its liquid form. Proteases are enzymes that are added to milk during cheese production, to hydrolyze caseins, specifically kappa casein, which stabilizes micelle formation preventing coagulation. Rennet and rennin are used to coagulate milk. Technically rennet is also the term for the lining of a calf's fourth stomach. The most common enzyme isolated from rennet is chymosin.

Bioengineered chymosin is used in the production of up to 70% of cheese products. While the use of bioengineered enzymes spares the lives of calves, it however, poses ethics issues for those opposed to eating foods prepared with GEMs.

2. Other Proteases

Milk has a number of proteins, in addition to the caseins and that is the reason it is called complete food. Other Proteases are used to make premium quality yogurts.

Cow milk also contains whey proteins such as lactalbumin and lactoglobulin. The denaturing of these whey proteins, using proteases, results in a creamier yogurt product. Destruction of whey proteins is also essential for cheese production. During the production of soft cheeses, whey is separated from the milk after curdling. It is then marketed as a nutrient supplement for bodybuilding, weight loss, and for lowering blood pressure. Proteases are also used to prepare supplements for infant formulas and medical uses.

3. Lactase

Lactase is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that cuts lactose into its constituent sugars, galactose, and glucose. If a person cannot produce sufficient amount of lactase enzyme in the small intestine, he becomes lactose intolerant, which results in cramps, gas, and diarrhea after taking milk products. Lactase is used commercially to prepare lactose-free products, particularly milk, for such individuals. It is also used in the preparation of ice cream, to make a creamier and sweeter tasting product.

4. Catalase

The enzyme Catalase has found limited use in one particular area of cheese production. Hydrogen peroxide is a potent oxidizer and toxic to cells. It is used instead of pasteurization, when making certain cheeses such as Swiss, in order to preserve natural milk enzymes that are beneficial to the end product and flavor development of the cheese. Catalase enzymes are typically obtained from bovine livers or microbial sources and are added to convert the hydrogen peroxide to water and molecular oxygen. Many enzyme manufacturers in India are now making Catalase and thus bring down its price in the market.

5. Lipases

Lipases are used to break down milk fats and give characteristic flavors to cheeses. Stronger flavored cheeses, for example, the Italian cheese, Romano, are prepared using lipases. The flavor comes from the free fatty acids produced when milk fats are hydrolyzed. Animal lipases are obtained from kid, calf, and lamb, while microbial lipase is derived by fermentation with the fungal species Mucor meihei.