Whey Protein Concentrate Gets Preliminary Approval For Use In Food For Peace Program
Arlington, VA—The Office of Food for Peace earlier this month approved the US Dairy Export Council’s (USDEC) application for whey protein concentrate (WPC) 34 and 80 to be used in programs administered by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Once USAID and USDEC finalize specifications and resolve remaining details, both whey protein concentrates will be included in the list of ingredients that implementing partners, such as private voluntary organizations, can purchase using USAID Food for Peace funds.
“This approval is one of the early steps in establishing a new, sustainable commercial channel for US dairy ingredients, which was ushered in by the World Health Organization’s 2008 food aid protein consumption recommendations,” said Veronique Lagrange, USDEC vice president, strategic research and insights.
In late 2008, WHO proposed new guidelines for supplementary foods designed to treat and prevent moderate malnutrition. Those preliminary guidelines suggest that about one-third of the protein in food aid products (making up 8 to 10 percent of the product by weight) should be animal-derived.
“Those in the dairy industry know the benefits of whey proteins and, in fact, some companies who currently manufacture for the food aid market already utilize whey in their products,” Lagrange noted. “But shifting dairy proteins from relying primarily on donations of US government surpluses into a broader commercial opportunity for US suppliers required that we convince aid agencies of their intrinsic nutritional and functional value.”
To gain preliminary Food for Peace approval, USDEC collected information on the nutritional value of whey and proof of its viability for treatment of childhood malnutrition in developing countries. USDEC presented the evidence to a Food for Peace review panel earlier this year.
Based on the application, the panel granted preliminary approval of WPC34 and WPC80 for use in food aid products. USDEC still needs to provide additional documents and complete other work to conclude the process.
“It could still be some time before final approval, but we do not anticipate any problems in establishing specs and supplying Food for Peace with other information they requested,” Lagrange said. “We are working with our members to provide that input.”
“With advancements in nutrition science, we know more about the types of proteins that are best suited for at-risk populations,” said Joan Parker, strategic advisor to USDEC
on food aid formulations.
“Whey protein is an ideal source of essential amino acids and branched chain amino acids that research has shown best meet the dietary needs of populations with limited access to proteins,” Parker added.
USDEC is also preparing further applications for sweet whey and whey protein isolates (WPI), sweet whey as a source of proteins and energy in supplementary foods and WPI as a source of proteins in nutritional situations where low lactose and protein concentration are key.
“There is still a sense that dairy ingredients are only viable in food aid uses if donated, as opposed to purchased,” Parker noted. “That is
an inaccurate representation.
“USAID’s preliminary acceptance of WPC34 and WPC80 is a prime example of US dairy finding a commercial niche while feeding hungry children and saving lives,” Parker said.
Last year, the US produced about 415 million pounds of whey protein concentrate, down 6.3 percent from 2008.
That 2009 WPC production total included 260.6 million pounds of WPC, 25.0 to 49.9 percent; and 154.4 million pounds of WPC, 50.0 to 89.9 percent.
US exports of WPC last year totaled 203.4 million pounds, up 29 percent from 2008. During the first five months of 2010, US exports of WPC totaled 125.5 million pounds, up 72 percent from the first five months of 2009.
