Effect of olive oil and glycerol on physical properties of whey protein concentrate films

Olive oil was incorporated into whey protein through emulsification to produce films. Whey protein films were prepared by dispersing 10% protein in distilled water; and plasticized with different levels of glycerol (glycerol : protein [Gly : pro ] = 0.5 and 0.6). Olive oil was added at different levels (oil : pro = 0.0, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4). The emulsion films were evaluated for mechanical properties, water vapor permeability (WVP) and opacity. Increasing the levels of Gly or olive oil in the films led to decreases in modulus and tensile strength. Increasing Gly content of films at oil/pro ratios of 0.2, 0.4 led to slight increases in elongation (EL). Increasing the oil : pro ratio further resulted in a decrease in EL for all films. No significant difference in WVP and opacity was observed between films made from mixtures of various proportions of whey protein concentrate-Gly with increasing olive oil (addition) at all levels of the plasticizer.