Permeate market set to boom following new Codex standard

Dairy companies are poised to take advantage of an impending boom in the permeate market once a global Codex standard is set, possibly as early as 2016.

Permeate is a by-product of whey manufacturing. It is a low-cost, carbohydrate ingredient often used as a bulk sweetener in snacks, chocolate, confectionery, ice-cream, desserts, beverages and bakery products.

The product is valuable for its ability to act as a replacement for other more expensive milk solids — such as whey powder, demineralised whey powder and lactose — without altering the taste or texture of the end product, or requiring any changes to processing parameters.

However, there is currently no Codex agreement for dairy permeate, a factor that deters many countries, including China, from allowing it in food and beverage products. In other parts of the world, permeate is already approved, but companies are reluctant to use it because there is no global consensus on how it should be labelled.

At the Codex annual meeting in 2015, dairy companies agreed to develop a new standard for permeate within two years in order to address this and other technical issues, such as harmonisation of product quality and consistency. But it is hoped that the process will be fast-tracked to completion within 12 months.

In total, 733,000 tonnes of permeate were produced in 2014, according to figures from the International Dairy Federation. North America accounts for more than half of this, but the majority of output there is used in animal feed.

Arla Foods Ingredients is one of the world’s leading permeate producers and in recent years the company has invested significantly in the manufacturing of high-quality, food-grade permeate. At its permeate production facility in Denmark, it manufactures Kosher and Halal certified whey permeate — demand for which is expected to increase in 2016.

Morten Kaas, director general foods at Arla Foods Ingredients, said: “Permeate is a relatively new ingredient that has only been used in the food industry for the past 10 to 15 years. When the Codex standard for dairy permeate is agreed the market will explode into life. Most significantly, we hope China will authorise its use — and if that happens it is possible that other markets in Asia will follow. We’re confident that we’ll be able to fast-track the creation of the Codex standard so that it is in place during [northern] summer 2016. This gives food manufacturers an opportunity to start formulation trials now to see how permeate can benefit their business.”