Stability of whey protein hydrolysate powders: Effects of relative humidity and temperature

Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) is now considered as an important and special dairy protein ingredient for its nutritional and functional properties. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effect of environmental relative humidity (RH) and storage temperature on the physicochemical stability of three WPH powders with hydrolysis degrees (DH) of 5.2%, 8.8% and 14.9%, respectively. The water sorption isotherms of the three WPH powders fitted the Guggenheim–Andersson–DeBoer model well. An increase in water content leaded to a decrease in glass transition temperature (Tg), following a linear Tg vs log water content relationship. Moreover, an increase in DH caused the decrease in Tg at the same water content. Changes in microstructure and colour occurred significantly when the WPH powders were stored at high environmental RH or temperature, especially for those with high DH.