Patent ID: 7094439

Claim:
A method for preparing deflavored whey protein material, said method comprising: (a) preparing an aqueous composition comprising a dairy-derived whey protein material containing soluble whey proteins and flavoring compounds; (b) adjusting the aqueous composition of (a) to either (1) a basic pH in the range of about 8.5 to about 12 using addition of alkali to the aqueous composition, or (2) an acidic pH in the range of about 2.5 to about 4 using addition of acid to the aqueous composition, thereby releasing the flavoring compounds; (c) passing the pH-adjusted aqueous composition of (b) adjacent an ultrafiltration membrane having a molecular weight cutoff up to about 50,000 Daltons, while maintaining the pH in the same range as adjusted in step (b), under suitable ultrafiltration conditions wherein the flavor compounds pass through the membrane, thereby deflavoring the whey protein material and retaining substantially all of the soluble whey proteins; and (d) recovering the soluble whey proteins retained by the ultrafiltration membrane to obtain the deflavored whey protein material.