Free-flowing powder in a bag

Quality of dairy powder

Several factors could influence the quality of dairy powders, impacting their nutritional value, flavor, texture, and overall functionality. However, two big influencers may impact the quality of dairy powder during production.

1. The first influencer is the raw material quality, so the heritage of the by-product. It matters, for instance, if you have whey coming from hard cheese production, or it’s coming from the soft cheeses. The whey coming from these processes not only differs in composition and specification but also the physical properties of the powder can differ quite some.
2. The second influencer of dairy powder quality is the production process behind it. The drying method used can significantly affect the nutritional quality, digestibility, and overall efficacy of the dairy-based feed.

Conventional and two-step drying method

There are mainly two different ways to dry dairy products: the so-called conventional drying tower and the two-step drying tower.

In the conventional drying tower, liquid dairy is sprayed from above into a hot air tower, instantly evaporating the moisture and leaving fine powder particles at the bottom of the tower. To get a dry powder at the bottom of the tower, in the conventional drying tower de dry matter content needs to go up to a percentage of around 97%. To reach this there is quite some heat needed. This can impact the quality of the end product, especially for whey protein, which is very sensitive to heat, resulting in a risk of loss of quality of protein.

In the two-step drying method you not only have the tower where the drying takes place like in the conventional drying tower but you also have afterward a big belt where you can evaporate the last bit of the moisture of the product. Therefore you don’t have to go to a dry matter content of 97% at once but you can stay at around 90% dry matter after the drying tower. The remaining water content (since the final product will still contain 2-3% moisture) will evaporate while the powder is on the belt. On that belt, the powder will stay up to 10 to 20 minutes where it is not only evaporating the last bit of water from the powder but also taking care of the crystallization. In this way, the powder gets time to crystallize.

Crystallization is finding a balance between the moisture in the environment, in the air, and moisture in the product. When a product is properly crystallized it will have a fixed status and it will not attract water afterward. So it will be protected against caking. That of course is a very important aspect of using powders as single or blended ingredients in your pre-starter, weaning diets, or milk replacers. We call that non-hygroscopicity. That non-hygroscopicity takes care of a proper product that is not caking and not sticky and which is much easier to work with.

Serolat concentrates and Prelac

To optimally support piglets, Nutrifeed provides a wide range of dairy-concentrated products that bring piglets’ diets the highly nutritional, digestible, and palatable ingredients they need for optimal preparation and transition to solid feed intake around weaning.

Serolat concentrates and Prelac is a product range containing 4 groups of dairy-based ingredients:

• Serolat Dairy – Premium enriched 100% dairy protein powders.
• Serolat Fat encapsulates – Premium whey micro-encapsulated fat-filled concentrates.
• Serolat Lactose – Ideal concentrated source of highly digestible dairy-origin carbohydrates.
• Prelac – The best combination of dairy and high-quality vegetable protein.

All product groups are developed and produced to consist of the best powder characteristics, for optimal use in any application and are tailored to be used in formulations for all life stages during the suckling, weaning, and rearing phase.

Conclusion

Quality dairy powders result from a combination of high-quality raw materials, appropriate drying methods, and meticulous control over processing and storage conditions. By focusing on these key factors, we can ensure that our dairy powders are of top quality and optimal use in any application.

This attention to quality not only provides optimal nutritional benefits but also enhances the health and productivity of animals. By mastering these practices, feed millers and farmers can be confident that they are providing the best possible feed, supporting the well-being and performance of young piglets.

Want to experience the difference that premium quality can make in your animal feed today? Have a look at our Serolat concentrate and Prelac products here.