Effects of Drying and Agglomeration on the Dissolution of Multi‐Component Food Powders

This work proposes routes to produce dairy‐based multi‐component powders that meet nutritional and dissolution performance requirements. The effects of processing and composition on the physical properties of dairy powders were investigated and the relationship between such powder properties and dissolution performance was established. A spray‐dried milk‐based formulation was used as base powder, into which a carbohydrate, either starch or maltodextrin, was incorporated in varying proportions by dry mixing or fluid‐bed agglomeration. Physical properties such as particle size, density and flowability of the resulting powders were analyzed and particular attention was given to their dissolution behavior. Incorporation of either maltodextrin or starch in the final powder composition, without compromising the dissolution performance, was achieved by fluid‐bed agglomeration, provided that the amount of maltodextrin was less than 25 % or the amount of starch did not exceed 15 % and that the final agglomerate size was in the range of 250–300 μm.