REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition and Food Science Technology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1630925
This article is part of the Research TopicDairy Processing and Modification of Dairy Matrix: Advances in Technology and Sustainability ConceptsView all articles
ACID WHEY VALORIZATION: NOVEL APPROACHES FOR PROBIOTIC AND FUNCTIONAL PRODUCTS DEVELOPMENT
Provisionally accepted
Botagoz Mutaliyeva1Elmira Turkeyeva1,2*
Galiya Madybekova3*Lana Živković4VSSL Prasad Talluri5Assem Issayeva6
Marko Vincekovic4- 1M.Auezov South Kazakhstan university, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
- 2International University of Tourism and Hospitality, Turkestan, Kazakhstan
- 3O.Zhanibekov South Kazakhstan pedagogical university, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
- 4Zagreb university, Zagreb, Croatia
- 5National university of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- 6Kazakh-British Technical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
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Acid whey (AW), a byproduct of dairy processing, particularly from Greek yogurt and cottage cheese production, presents significant environmental and economic challenges due to its high organic load and disposal restrictions. However, the unique composition of acid whey, containing proteins, lactose, minerals, and bioactive compounds, presents promising opportunities for the development of functional, value-added products. This review explores innovative approaches to acid whey valorization, emphasizing biotechnological methods, fermentation techniques, and advanced membrane filtration processes. Comparative analysis of sweet and acid whey compositions underscores specific challenges and advantages in acid whey utilization, various valorization strategies, such as membrane filtration and ultrafiltration, osmosis, enzymatic, and microbial processing, highlighting their effectiveness in ingredient recovery and product development. It also identifies suitable microorganisms capable of efficiently metabolizing acid whey and enhancing the nutritional and functional profiles of derived products. Special attention is given to fermented beverages and other functional products developed from acid whey, incorporating novel strategies to optimize fermentation processes. Moreover, this review details recent advancements in probiotic microencapsulation technologies, demonstrating their effectiveness in maintaining and enhancing probiotic viability in acid whey-based functional beverages. The success of these functional products significantly depends on selecting appropriate probiotic strains, encapsulation materials, and innovative microencapsulation methods. Finally, the article addresses current limitations and outlines future research perspectives, highlighting the potential applications of acid whey-derived products in food, beverages, animal feed, and bioenergy sectors.
Keywords: Acid whey, strategies for acid whey valorization, Functional products, fermented beverages, microencapsulation, Probiotic viability, acid whey fermentation
Received: 18 May 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mutaliyeva, Turkeyeva, Madybekova, Živković, Talluri, Issayeva and Vincekovic. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Elmira Turkeyeva, M.Auezov South Kazakhstan university, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
Galiya Madybekova, O.Zhanibekov South Kazakhstan pedagogical university, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
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