Americans, especially teenage girls and young women, do not consume the recommended amount of calcium per day. Calcium is the single nutrient most frequently missing from the American diet. This inhibits proper bone development and contributes to other health problems. At the same time, teenagers and young adults consume the largest amount of soft drinks, drinking more than 64 gallons of soft drinks annually. The proposed research project will address the calcium deficiency of teenagers and young women by developing a good tasting carbonated soft drink containing 300mg of dairy calcium per 12 ounce serving. The Phase I research project will address several technical issues relating to the utilization of acid whey, a by-product of the cottage cheese making process, to produce the dairy soft drink. The primary issues to be addressed in Phase I include the development of the nanofiltration process to obtain the acid whey retentate, use of acids and preservatives to stabilize the concentrate, identification of flavors to address the off taste issues, and development of the carbonation process. A prototype dairy calcium-based soft drink will be produced and preliminary consumer taste tests conducted in Phase I. Modifications in the process, flavor adjustments, scale up tissues and extensive consumer testing will be conducted in Phase II. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The carbonated soft drink market is a $54 billion dollar industry in the United States. A good tasting dairy soft drink product has enormous market potential. Dairilean is working with Pepsi-Cola Company as a marketing partner for the drink to the consumer market and with InterNutria, a function food manufactured, is a possible marketing partner in a specialty niche market to women.
