Arla Foods Ingredients boosts low-protein infant formula with new alpha-rich ingredient

24 May 2023 --- Arla Foods Ingredients is launching an alpha-lactalbumin (alpha)-rich infant formula ingredient to help meet the growing need for low-protein formulations. Multiple studies have shown that high protein intake during infancy accelerates weight gain, increasing the risk of obesity in later life.

This body of evidence and regulatory changes have spurred the protein content of infant formula to fall gradually in many countries.

According to the company, one of the most effective ways to create formulas that are lower in protein but high in nutritional quality is to formulate with alpha. Rich in essential amino acids and high in other amino acids – such as cysteine – it is said to be the most abundant whey protein in human milk.

But standard formulas contain considerably lower levels.

Smaller dosage solution
Arla Foods Ingredients’ latest whey protein isolate – Lacprodan Alpha-50 – presents a new solution to this challenge. Alpha accounts for a minimum of 90% of its protein content, which means smaller dosages can be used to reach a level similar to that of human milk.

The new product’s high level of alpha allows a high degree of formulation freedom. For example, it can be combined with other functional ingredients, such as Lacprodan MFGM-10, a milk fat globule membrane ingredient, which contains compounds such as phospholipids, sphingomyelin and gangliosides.

Lone Strøm, head of paediatric sales development at Arla Foods Ingredients, comments: “Lacprodan Alpha-50 offers solutions to two big challenges facing formula manufacturers. Its high alpha-lactalbumin content allows the creation of products that are lower in protein, demand for which is growing because of concerns about obesity.”

“And because it delivers considerable amounts of essential amino acids, even at a low dosage, it is easily combined with other ingredients that are sought after in formula.”

The alpha range
The new product is the latest addition to Arla Foods Ingredients’ alpha range. Other products include Lacprodan Alpha-06, a whey protein concentrate that is high in alpha-lactalbumin, and Lacprodan Alpha-10, which is supported by both clinical documentation and 25 years of market use.

The latest clinical research on alpha will be explored in a virtual seminar, “Discover the wonders of Alpha,” at the end of September.

Arla Foods Ingredients supports the World Health Organization’s recommendation for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of an infant’s life and continued breastfeeding up to the age of two or beyond in combination with nutritionally appropriate complementary foods.

The company recently showcased concepts designed to shake up the protein industry at Vitafoods Europe, including a bar with protein dispersed throughout three different layers and a clear medical protein beverage with a green apple-lime flavor.

Headquartered in Denmark, Arla Foods Ingredients is a 100% owned subsidiary of Arla Foods.

Edited by Joshua Poole