Protin^® from Arla Foods is a new range of high-energy drinks designed to provide refreshing nutrition in hospital and at home
Two hospitals have worked closely with Arla Foods to develop a new series of high-energy yogurt drinks especially for patients with small appetites. Arla Foods Ingredients supplies the protein that gives the drinks their optimum nutritional content while maintaining an appealingly light consistency.
Protin^® is the first fresh dairy product of its kind to be launched on the Danish market, bringing an opportunity for patients to obtain the nutrition-packed product they received in hospital from their local supermarket. At the same time, hospitals and nursing homes are no longer reliant on mixing the drinks themselves. That saves both time and money.
"The hospitals never know how much they need from day to day. Apart from being time-consuming to mix, much of what the hospitals make themselves goes to waste due to the very short shelf life," explains Arla Foods key account manager John Gynther.

Extended shelf life
Compared to the less than two-day shelf life of the blends made by hospitals and nursing homes, Protin^® has an overall shelf life of up to 28 days. The six fruity flavour variants, including two sugar-free, provide an important dietary supplement when the appetite is at a low ebb. Drinking Protin^® regularly during the week before an operation can also help patients build up their nutritional reserves.
Both the hospitals involved in the project supplied samples of their own blends as a benchmark for the development process. When it appeared that the simple addition of milk protein to an existing drinking yogurt base resulted in an impossibly high viscosity, the functional milk protein team at Arla Foods Ingredients was brought in to find a solution.
"It is very typical for us to be assigned to difficult tasks like this," says customer service manager Mads Bjerregaard Larsen."We found it necessary to reduce the milk content of the product, as the casein in the milk was responsible for the high viscosity. Instead whey-based proteins with a neutral flavour profile and low water-binding capacity were used to compensate for the milk. We also slightly altered the processing parameters to obtain the optimal product."
A blend of whey protein fractions, NUTRILAC^® YO-7830 was chosen as the protein source.

Fresh taste
"We have developed a range that the hospitals actually think is slightly better than what they were making," John Gynther says. "People have been surprised by the deliciously fresh taste."
Launched in Danish hospitals and nursing homes in autumn 2006, Protin^® appeared on supermarket shelves in early 2007 with specially designed packaging. A number of discharged hospital patients had already inquired about the product before the retail launch.
Today the range is widely used in hospitals and nursing homes throughout Denmark. Arla Foods is now looking to launch the range on international markets.