Penn State researchers develop method to recover fat from ice cream waste

Researchers at Penn State University have developed a method to recover approximately 95% of milk fat from discarded ice cream waste. Working in collaboration with Perry’s Ice Cream in New York, the team investigated ways to reclaim fat from batches that fail quality checks or are discarded during equipment cleaning.

While researchers tested various methods, including enzyme treatments and acidic or alkaline adjustments, they found that simply using a centrifuge on untreated waste yielded the highest recovery rate. The centrifuge separates materials based on physical properties, successfully extracting fat from the mixture of water and other ingredients.

The study indicates that this process could be economically viable at an industrial scale. Economic modeling suggests a minimum selling price of approximately 40 US cents per kilogram for the recovered fat, presenting a potential business opportunity for manufacturers to reduce waste and reclaim raw materials.