Whey as a raw material for the production of functional beverages

One of the least utilized by-products of food industry, despite the great potential that is described, is the whey, which is obtained as a by-product of the technological process production of cheese and casein. The excess whey, which occurs in this process in very high yields, with failure to processing is becoming a very big polluter, what is completely at odds with the potential that such materials possess. On the other hand, the modern tempo and way of life, and increasingly polluted environmental also, impose the need to produce food products that would help the human body in the fight against harmful agents which are exposed to daily. One of the more effective solution is the production of fermented functional beverages based on whey, which achieved this intention in the most natural and most comfortable way. Considering the rather untapped potential of whey as a raw material and growing food shortages in the world market, the aim of this study was to analyze the possibilities of production of functional beverages based on whey, with satisfactory sensory characteristics, in order to demonstrate the attractiveness of whey as raw material in the food industry. This paper presents an overview of the wide possibilities for the use of whey with a special emphasis on its attractiveness and the necessity of its utilizing.