Influence of acidification and re-neutralization on mineral equilibria and physicochemical properties of model cheese feed

• Published in: Food chemistry 2024-07, Vol.445, p.138759-138759, Article 138759
• Main Authors: Altay, Ipek, Nogueira Silva, Naaman Francisco, Sloth, Jens J., Mohammadifar, Mohammad Amin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: acidification; calcium; calcium phosphates; Cheddar cheese; cheeses; Colloidal calcium phosphate; Colloidal stability; consumer demand; food chemistry; solubilization; viscosity; Zeta potential
• ISSN: 0308-8146; 1873-7072
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138759

•Extent of acidification affected the reversibility of solubilized calcium.•Re-neutralization altered fat-protein interactions in feed.•Feed viscosity was primarily affected by final pH.•pH alterations led to distinct destabilization behavior among the feeds. Cheese feed is used as spray-dryer feed in cheese powder production, where there is growing consumer demand to eliminate calcium-chelating salts (ES). To develop ES-free feed production processes, it is essential to investigate the relationship between pH, structural changes, and mineral solubilization. This study investigated the influence of acidification and pH re-neutralization on calcium equilibria and stability of ES-free model cheese feeds. The goal was to increase protein availability by solubilizing colloidal calcium phosphate (CCP) and to assess whether CCP solubilization is reversible upon re-neutralization. The extent of acidification (to pH 4.2 or pH 4.7) significantly affected the irreversibility of calcium solubilization upon re-neutralization. Moreover, re-neutralization treatment seemed to induce changes in protein-fat interactions. Feed viscosity was mainly influenced by the final pH, rather than the re-neutralization history. These results offer new insights into the complex interplay of pH, structural modifications, mineral solubilization, and stability in cheese feed production.