Evaluation of the Physicochemical Parameters of Functional Whey Beverages

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of the key technological parameters on the quality indices of functional beverages produced from whey and enriched with 0.2% of cold-pressed flaxseed oil, rich in ω-3 fatty acids. The amount of fatty acids, peroxide and anisidine values, fatty acidity, sedimentation and sensory parameters of whey beverages were estimated. It was found that the addition of flaxseed oil affected the sensory, physical and chemical properties of the beverages. High quantities of oleic and α-linolenic fatty acids (18.97 and 54.82%, respectively) and negligible amounts of palmitic and myristic acids (4.79 and 0.04%, respectively) were found in the product. On the basis of the obtained results, the beverages from whey enriched with flaxseed oil had a favourable ratio of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and atherogenic and thrombogenic indices. The addition of a stabiliser and the pasteurisation of whey beverages with flaxseed oil did not affect the sensory parameters and the acidity of the products. The highest peroxide value (2.36 meq O₂/kg) and acidity (0.34%) were found in the samples with pH=4.0 after 30-day storage at (6±1) °С. A strong negative correlation was estimated between the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and anisidine value (R=-0.871; p<0.05), peroxide value (R=-0.728; p<0.05) and fatty acidity (R=-0.948; p<0.05).