QUALITY OF PROTEIN IN MILK REPLACERS FOR YOUNG CALVES. III. RENNET COAGULATION AND UNDENATURED WHEY PROTEIN NITROGEN CONTENT OF SKIM MILK POWDERS AND COMMERCIAL MILK REPLACERS
Reconstituted commercial skim milk powder samples which produced a firm (> 30 g) rennet curd had high levels (> 4 mg N/g) of undenatured whey protein nitrogen (WPN) as measured by the modified Harland–Ashworth test. However, similar samples which also had high levels of WPN (> 6 mg N/g) had low curd firmness or failed to coagulate. Of 24 commercial samples of milk replacers, 2 formed a soft curd; the rest did not coagulate. Five had high levels of WPN (> 6 mg N/g); one sample contained 17.8 mg N/g, well above normal levels of skim milk powder. Plant proteins may have caused high WPN values and interfered with the Harland–Ashworth test. It was concluded that WPN is neither an acceptable index of rennet coagulability of milk replacers, nor a reliable index for selecting commercially produced skim milk powders with good rennet coagulability.