FrieslandCampina Innovates Whey Protein Production with Lyras UV-C Sterilization Technology

DAIRY & ALTERNATIVES SUSTAINABILITY

Harleen Singh

5/19/20252 min read

This is an AI generated illustration and does not represent actual product or service.

FrieslandCampina, a global leader in dairy nutrition, has filed a patent application for an advanced process to produce Serum Protein Concentrate (SPC)—a key ingredient in infant formula—using Lyras UV-C sterilization technology. This innovation replaces traditional heat pasteurization, significantly improving energy efficiency while preserving heat-sensitive bioactive proteins like immunoglobulins (IgG) and lactoferrin.

The Challenge: Balancing Microbial Safety and Nutritional Quality

Infant formula must closely mimic human breast milk’s nutritional profile, particularly its whey-to-casein ratio and essential amino acid content. However, conventional SPC production relies on thermal pasteurization (72°C for 15+ seconds) and ceramic microfiltration (CMF), which:

- Denature bioactive proteins (e.g., IgG, lactoferrin) above 65°C.

- Consume high energy and water (CMF requires significant resources).

- Fail to eliminate thermoresistant bacteria like Streptococcus thermophilus and Microbacterium spp.

The Solution: UV-C Sterilization for Enhanced Safety & Bioactivity

FrieslandCampina’s patent application introduces UV-C light (254 nm wavelength) as a non-thermal microbial reduction method, leveraging Lyras’ turbulence-based UV-C technology to overcome dairy’s opacity and ensure uniform sterilization.

Key Advantages:

✔ Preserves bioactive proteins (no heat denaturation).

✔ Eliminates thermoresistant bacteria that survive pasteurization.

✔ Reduces energy use by ~1000x vs. thermal pasteurization.

✔ Enables sustainable processing by removing CMF steps.

Experimental Validation: UV-C Outperforms Pasteurization

Traditional Pasteurization (68–76°C): Reduced IgG bioactivity to 44% and lactoferrin to 10%, while thermoresistant bacteria persisted (800 CFU/mL).
UV-C Treatment (9% Dry Matter, 10°C): Cut microbial load from 800 to 10 CFU/mL, eliminated thermoresistant bacteria, and fully preserved IgG (1.54 wt%) and lactoferrin (0.13 wt%).
Optimized UV-C (12.5–14.7% Dry Matter, 30–52°C): Confirmed effectiveness at higher concentrations with no protein damage and improved microbial kill at Re >1500.