Organoleptic Characteristics of Whey Treated by Cation Exchange Resin

A single column cation exchanger resin was used to eliminate cations from renet cheese whey, with particular reference to the improvement of taste and flavor. Ten panelists were convened to assess the contribution of the mineral components to the salty taste of whey, judging on the basis of taste, flavor and color. The organoleptic characteristics of untreated whey were arbitrarily assigned a score of zero and the best treated whey in terms of quality, a score of 20. The use of a strong-acid cation exchange resin resulted in the removal of 28% of the calcium and 45% of the magnesium from treated whey with a concomitant increase in the concentration of sodium. The average score of treated whey increased from zero, for untreated whey, to 19.7 for the first element of whey assed through cation exchange resin.