Recent media reports have generated concern among some New Yorkers that acid whey, a byproduct of yogurt and other dairy processing, presents a hazard to human health and the environment. But for Andrew Novakovic, E. V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economics in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, these concerns are misguided. According to Novakovic, “The suggestion that the production of acid whey is just a hair’s breadth away from creating an environmental catastrophe is astonishingly hyperbolic.” In fact, as he points out, the acidity of yogurt whey is comparable to that of many familiar foods, including bananas, tomatoes and maple syrup.
Acid whey is the watery stuff that’s left after cultured milk is strained to produce the rich and creamy Greek-style yogurt that has exploded in popularity across the country. While environmental regulations prohibit processors from disposing of acid whey into the environment, since it also contains lactose, minerals, sugars, and protein, it is used as a nutritionally rich supplement in animal feed. Yet, over the last five years New York has become the “Silicon Valley of Yogurt” and is now the leading producer in the nation, nearly tripling annual output to approximately 692 million pounds of the stuff in 2012. That’s a lot of yogurt, creating economic prosperity and much needed jobs in upstate communities. But this success has also generated a lot more whey than can be utilized in animal feed, and as a result, new and innovative methods are being explored to address the excess.
For example, David Barbano, professor of food science, is researching cost-effective methods to extract the small amount of protein contained in whey to be utilized in the manufacture of infant formula. As Novakovic suggests, “Yogurt whey is an unusually rich source of a protein that is characteristic of mother’s milk.”
If Barbano and Novakovic are right, perhaps New York’s next economic boon could be a baby (formula) boom!
