UTILIZATION OF MILK PERMEATE IN THE MANUFACTURE OF SPORTS DRINKS

The purpose of this study was utilization of milk permeate in the manufacture of sports drinks. The milk permeate contained 6.1% total solids, 4.2%lactose and 0.54% ash. The permeate was treated by going through several processes, which included; heat treatment, fermentation and clarification. Strawberry and mango homogenates were prepared and stored at -20oC until use. Fruit beverages were prepared using the pretreated permeate and fruit homogenates at ratio of 3:1 (v/w). Sports drinks were chemically analyzed and organoleptically evaluated when fresh and every 5 days until 15 days of storage in refrigerator. The results revealed that milk permeate was  a good source for the essential electrolytes such as calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium and phosphorus which may be taken as sports drinks after normal or vigorous exercise to replace sweat lost. Using strawberry or mango greatly increased calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium and phosphorus content in the prepared drink. Mango was better source for potassium and magnesium comparing to strawberry, whereas strawberry was better one with respect to calcium and phosphorus. Sensory evaluation indicated that the two sports drinks with fruits had better acceptability as a compared to the plain (control) one.