Interpretive Summary: Circular bioeconomy in dairy production: Ricotta cheese exhausted whey, from a byproduct to bioproducts, a case study
By: David Meo Zilio, Ciro Vasmara
Implications
- Cheese production generates large amounts of cheese whey. The common ratio between cheese and cheese whey is 1:9 w/w.
- Dairy industry waste contributes to environmental pollution. However, it can also represent a valuable resource for the circular bioeconomy if properly managed.
- Protein and fat of cheese whey can be used to make “Ricotta” and other similar dairy fresh products.
- Ricotta cheese exhausted whey or “Scotta” (RCEW) is the end product of Ricotta production.
- RCEW is rich in lactose minerals and vitamins and has the potential to be usefully used in biorefinery.
Introduction
The global dairy sector produced 930 million tons of milk in 2022, which was processed into a wide range of dairy products for human consumption. In 2023 (Figure 1), 160.8 million tons have been produced by EU 27, the largest global producer, followed by United States. In addition to fresh consumption, milk can be processed to produce skim milk, yogurt, cheese, cream, and buttermilk.
Some byproducts are generated during the processing of these dairy products, the main one being whey (52.2 million tons in liquid whey equivalent) from both cheese and Greek yogurt production. Cheese whey (CW) is a liquid that contains lactose, soluble proteins, lipids, minerals, and vitamins, which can be used either for human consumption or animal feeding. It is estimated that 180–190 million tons of CW are generated globally; however, currently, only 50% is used by the food and feed industry (Vasmara et al., 2021). Other residuals and waste can include products that have been downgraded or discarded.
Read more in Animal Frontiers: Advancing the Circularity of Livestock Production.
