Research Projects

Lactose intolerance affects nearly 65% of the global population, leading to a preference for dairy products. The low-lactose products market is projected to reach USD 18.4 billion by 2025, driven by consumer demand for nutritional value. Low-lactose products like yoghurt, UHT milk, beverages, and cheese are available, but their production costs are high due to enzyme/membrane filtration and additional treatment. Milk powder, a cost-effective dairy product, can be converted into powder using spray drying. However, technological problems like stickiness, caking, and maillard browning can affect the quality, shelf life, and nutritional value of lactose-free dairy products. The addition of high molecular weight polysaccharides, such as cyclodextrin, maltodextrin, or gum arabic, can help overcome these challenges. The addition of polysaccharides can also reduce the hygroscopicity of the prepared lactose-free powder and control maillard browning during processing and storage. This approach can overcome the challenges of decreased protein quality and the formation of harmful maillard end products.