ZwitterCo, a company that develops and commercialized membranes built on zwitterionic chemistry, announces that its Evolution Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Protein Concentration Membrane (PCM) products are now FDA-compliant for whey and milk processing. This milestone expands the Evolution portfolio's regulatory reach across food and dairy applications, joining the company's FDA-compliant Evolution SF membranes.

The Evolution family of membranes, built from ZwitterCo's zwitterionic chemistry, delivers anti-fouling performance that resists irreversible fouling – even in high-solids environments common to dairy processing. For processors of whey, milk and other high-protein streams, this means higher productivity, shorter cleaning programs and reduced chemical and water use.

"Over the past three years, over a dozen food and dairy processors tested ZwitterCo membranes in the lab and demonstrated their unprecedented cleanability compared to conventional membranes," said ZwitterCo's VP of Food Processing & Specialties, Jon Goodman. "With FDA compliance, it is now 'Go time' for installing them in production systems."

ZwitterCo's Evolution SF, PCM and RO membranes are currently in use and under evaluation across multiple dairy processing applications. At a large whey processor, Evolution SF membranes achieved higher flux than conventional PES UF membranes in whey protein isolate (WPI) production, while an Evolution RO installation reduced cleaning-related water consumption by over 40%, translating to over 1 million gallons of freshwater saved in the first 10 months of operation.

With FDA compliance now established, food and dairy manufacturers can confidently integrate Evolution RO and PCM membranes into whey protein concentration, skim milk concentration and water reuse systems. ZwitterCo is pursuing European certification under Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, with a target for completion in 2026. The company is also pursuing a comprehensive suite of additional certifications, including Halal, Kosher, 3-A Sanitary Standard 45-03 and USDA.

While that process is underway, ZwitterCo's FDA-compliant membranes are already commercially available and ideally suited for testing and validation in food and dairy applications, allowing processors to benchmark performance ahead of European approval.

This FDA milestone reinforces ZwitterCo's commitment to helping food and dairy processors maximize uptime and productivity.

Source: ZwitterCo