China releases low-protein whey imports, predators are ready

Arla Foods Ingredients welcomes China's new policy allowing low-protein whey to be imported for food and beverage products.

Last month, China announced an official safety and quality standard for the use of low-protein whey powder in food processing, marking the Chinese market's ability to immediately import this raw material from overseas. The standard is applicable worldwide, as long as it meets the relevant requirements, any country can export low-protein whey to China.

Henrik Jacob Hjortshoej, head of sales development for food ingredients at Aishi Chenxi, said: "The opening of the Chinese market to import low-protein whey is very important to the global dairy ingredients industry. As everywhere, China's demand for low-protein whey is fast. Rising. We look forward to working with Chinese customers to provide them with the best quality low-protein whey powder for food and beverage products."

Low protein whey is a dairy solids containing about 80% lactose. As a leavening agent, low-protein whey can replace skimmed milk powder, lactose and sweet whey powder, and is cost-effective. In 2017, the International Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex Alimentarius) set international standards for low-protein whey powder.

Aishi Chenxi Food Ingredients is one of the world's largest suppliers of low-protein whey, with production bases in the European Union and Argentina.

In recent years, the use of low-protein whey by multinational brands has increased, especially in categories such as chocolate and biscuits. At the same time, the use of hot drinks, dairy products and desserts is also increasing.

According to data from market research company Innova, new products containing low-protein whey more than doubled in recent years, from 169 in 2015 to 387 in 2019.