The quality of microparticulated protein

The purpose of this paper is to describe the effects of microparticulation upon the quality of microparticulated protein products and to confirm that microparticulation does not result in changes in protein structure or quality different from those that occur with cooking. Two products were tested: microparticulated egg white and skim milk proteins and microparticulated whey protein concentrate. Three approaches were used to monitor for changes in amino acid and protein value: amino acid analysis, protein efficiency ratio (PER) bioassay, and both one- and two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Evaluation of the results of these tests indicates that no significant differences were found when comparing the premix before and after microparticulation. Significant differences also did not occur when the premix was cooked using conventional methods. Collectively, the data provide strong evidence that the protein microparticulation process used to prepare microparticulated protein products (e.g., Simplesse) does not alter the quality or nutritional value of protein in the final products.