Nanoparticulated whey proteins

1. A method for the production of nanoparticulated whey protein which comprises:

treating an aqueous solution of whey protein by adjusting the pH at a very precise narrow range of ±0.2 pH units and between 3.5 and 9 depending upon the divalent metal content of the solution or adjusting the ionic strength of the whey protein solution while keeping the pH constant, wherein (a) to obtain negatively charged particles, the treating of the aqueous whey protein solution is achieved by adjusting the pH to 5.6 to 6.4 when the divalent metal content is below 0.2 g for 100 g of initial whey protein powder or adjusting the pH to 6.3 to 9 when the divalent metal content is above 0.2 g but below 2.5 g for 100 g of initial whey protein powder; and (b) to obtain positively charged particles, the treating of the aqueous whey protein solution includes removing free cations of Ca, K, Na, and Mg and adjusting the pH to 3.5 to 5, and

subjecting the treated aqueous whey protein solution to a heat treatment at a temperature of between about 82° C. to about 89° C. for a time period of from 12 to 25 minutes to obtain a liquid dispersion of spherical whey protein nanoparticles having a particle size of less than 1 μm;

wherein the solution is not subjected to mechanical stresses to obtain the nanoparticles.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein spontaneous nanoparticulation of the whey proteins is induced during heat treatment in absence of shearing, and in which the proportion of nanoparticles in the liquid dispersion is at least 20% with the proportion of residual soluble aggregates or soluble protein being below 80%.

3. The method according to claim 1 , in which the average nanoparticle size is characterised by a polydispersity index below 0.2.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the heat treatment is conducted for a time period of 15 minutes and at a temperature of 85° C.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solution at a pH of 7.0 has a salt content of 5 to 200 mM.

6. The method of claim 1 , which further comprises drying the dispersion of nanoparticles to form when protein nanoparticle aggregates having a size of 100 to 990 nm.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the aqueous whey protein solution is essentially salt free or where ionic strength has been adjusted by organic or inorganic ions in such a way that is allows nanoparticulation at constant pH.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the whey proteins are present in the aqueous solution in an amount of 0.1 wt.-% to 12 wt.-% on the basis of the total weight of the solution.

9. The method of claim 1 , which further comprises adding other demineralized or slightly mineralized globular protein to the dispersion.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the other protein is egg, soy, cereals, oilseeds, or other vegetable or animal origin protein.

11. Whey protein nanoparticles obtainable by the method of claim 1 having a Protein Efficiency Ratio of at least 100 and characterised by a particle size of 100 to 990 nm and a polydispersity index below 0.2.

12. The nanoparticles of claim 11 , having a Protein Efficiency Ratio of at least 118 and a particle size of 100 to 700 nm.

13. A food product, a food supplement, a nutritional composition or a pharmaceutical composition that contains whey protein nanoparticles according to claim 11 .

14. A food product according to claim 13 , which is a low fat product.

15. A food product according to claim 13 , in the form of a coffee creamer, yogurt, pasteurized, UHT milk, sweet condensed milk, fermented milks, a fermented milk product, milk chocolate, mousses, foams, emulsions, ice cream, milk-based powders, infant formula, diet fortifications, pet food, tablet, dried oral supplement, or wet oral supplement.

16. The method of claim 1 which further comprises adding a buffer to the solution to avoid substantial changes in pH during the heat treatment.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the buffer is a food-grade buffer comprising acetic acid, phosphoric acid, citric acid or a salt thereof.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein the heat treatment is conducted at a temperature of from about 84° C. to about 87° C. for a time of from 12 to 20 minutes.