Abstract
Infant Milk Formula (IMF) is an instant alternative to breastfeeding which is being investigated continuously to mimic the composition of human milk. Hypoallergenic IMF is recommended for infants who cannot tolerate cow milk due to allergy. Paediatric obesity resulted in burgeoning demand for low protein infant formula, especially in Asia. Beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg), a major cow milk allergen to infants, is present in cow milk as 3-4 g/L, whereas, interestingly, it is absent in human milk. Besides, human milk contains Fe3+ binding lactoferrin (LF) and Ca2+ binding alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-Lac) about 10 and 3 times, respectively, higher than cow milk. Therefore, a mechanism to formulate a hypoallergenic IMF with low protein content could be the addition of LF and alpha-Lac and reducing beta-Lg at the same time using an appropriate processing method. Hence, as a pragmatic approach, this study considered a pasteurized form of ready-to-feed (RTF) by applying Pressure Assisted Thermal Pasteurization (PATP) achieved from HPP of 600 MPa for 15 s applied at 57.1 degrees C to attain 72.3 degrees C after pressurization. In parallel, conventional HTST was also applied at 72 degrees C for both 15 and 30 s to compare PATP's effect. HTST and PATP retained >90% and > 75% LF respectively whereas PATP induced higher retention of alpha-Lac compared to HTST. However, HTST retained >60% beta-Lg while PATP induced a high denaturation of beta-Lg with 28% retention only. Moreover, both PATP and HTST induced around 5 log reduction of E. coli (ATCC 8739) in IMF. Therefore, the current investigation potentially indicates a route to develop a PATP-processed hypoallergenic and low protein RTF formula, a niche product.