Short communication: Norbixin and bixin partitioning in Cheddar cheese and whey

Abstract

The Cheddar cheese colorant annatto is present in whey and must be removed by bleaching. Chemical bleaching negatively affects the flavor of dried whey ingredients, which has established a need for a better understanding of the primary colorant in annatto, norbixin, along with cheese color alternatives. The objective of this study was to determine norbixin partitioning in cheese and whey from full-fat and fat-free Cheddar cheese and to determine the viability of bixin, the nonpolar form of norbixin, as an alternative Cheddar cheese colorant. Full-fat and fat-free Cheddar cheeses and wheys were manufactured from colored pasteurized milk. Three norbixin (4% wt/vol) levels (7.5, 15, and 30 mL of annatto/454 kg of milk) were used for full-fat Cheddar cheese manufacture, and 1 norbixin level was evaluated in fat-free Cheddar cheese (15 mL of annatto/454 kg of milk). For bixin incorporation, pasteurized whole milk was cooled to 55 °C, and then 60 mL of bixin/454 kg of milk (3.8% wt/vol bixin) was added and the milk homogenized (single stage, 8 MPa). Milk with no colorant and milk with norbixin at 15 mL/454 kg of milk were processed analogously as controls. No difference was found between the norbixin partition levels of full-fat and fat-free cheese and whey (cheese mean: 79%, whey: 11.2%). In contrast to norbixin recovery (9.3% in whey, 80% in cheese), 1.3% of added bixin to cheese milk was recovered in the homogenized, unseparated cheese whey, concurrent with higher recoveries of bixin in cheese (94.5%). These results indicate that fat content has no effect on norbixin binding or entrapment in Cheddar cheese and that bixin may be a viable alternative colorant to norbixin in the dairy industry.

Effect of temperature and concentration on benzoyl peroxide bleaching efficacy and benzoic acid levels in whey protein concentrate

“…Cheddar cheese in the United States is typically colored with annatto (norbixin), a carotenoid extracted from the seed of the Bixa orellana shrub (Scotter, 2009). Approximately 10% of annatto partitions into the liquid whey during Cheddar cheese manufacture (Smith et al, 2014).…”

Sensory and Functionality Differences of Whey Protein Isolate Bleached by Hydrogen or Benzoyl Peroxide

“…The primary carotenoid responsible for the yellow color in annatto added to Cheddar cheese is norbixin (Kang and others ). Approximately 10% of the norbixin added to cheese milk partitions into the liquid whey and results in a yellow color in whey protein ingredients if it is not removed (Kang and others ; Smith and others ). Currently, benzoyl peroxide (BP) and hydrogen peroxide (HP) are the only two chemical bleaching agents approved by the FDA for bleaching of whey (US FDA ,b), although enzymatic alternatives to chemical bleaching also exist (Campbell and others , ), and alternate coloring agents are also being developed and marketed (Chr Hansen ).…”

The effect of bleaching agents on the degradation of vitamins and carotenoids in spray-dried whey protein concentrate

“…These characteristics have made WPC a useful ingredient as a protein additive (Varnam and Sutherland, 1994;Graf et al, 2011), an emulsifier (Foegeding et al, 2002), and a thickening agent (Foegeding et al, 2006). However, WPC produced from colored Cheddar cheese retains approximately 10% of the added annatto colorant, which, unless removed, limits its application as a food ingredient (Jervis et al, 2012;Smith et al, 2014). The primary colorant used for Cheddar cheese is annatto (Scotter, 2009), a naturally occurring plant seed that has a dark orange color and comprises the carotenoid norbixin (Kang et al, 2010).…”

“…The primary colorant used for Cheddar cheese is annatto (Scotter, 2009), a naturally occurring plant seed that has a dark orange color and comprises the carotenoid norbixin (Kang et al, 2010). Because norbixin is soluble in polar solutions, approximately 10% of this compound is not retained in the cheese curd and is present in the whey (Smith et al, 2014).…”

“…It is therefore important to understand how to minimize the degradation of key nutrients during whey processing. Due to the flavor and functional effects of bleaching, alternative colorants for Cheddar cheese that do not partition into the whey have been proposed (Kang et al, 2012;Smith et al, 2014). The objective of this study was to determine the effects of bleaching whey containing traditional annatto colorant with hydrogen peroxide (HP), benzoyl peroxide (BP), or native lactoperoxidase (LP) on vitamin and carotenoid degradation in WPC80.…”