What is the difference between whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate in a protein bar?

What is whey protein concentrate?

Whey protein concentrate is the substance obtained by removing enough non-protein material from whey that the finished dry product contains not less than 25 percent protein, according to FDA's GRAS regulation at 21 CFR 184.1979c. The same regulation describes production by physical separation techniques such as precipitation, filtration, or dialysis, and allows a fluid, concentrate, or dry product form.

What is whey protein isolate?

Isolate is the further-concentrated version of the same protein. GRAS Notice No. 633, filed with FDA for native whey protein, states that the whey protein is concentrated by the partial removal of non-protein constituents (lactose and minerals), and that the finished dry product contains 79.5% or more protein by weight for the concentrate and 89.5% or more for the isolate. The notice adds that the two products are manufactured using the same process and differ primarily in terms of their protein content.

That notice describes one manufacturer's native whey process rather than every whey ingredient on the market, so read its percentages as that notice's own specification and not as a universal floor.

Are whey isolate and whey concentrate complete proteins?

Both are whey proteins. Whey is described as a high quality protein in one of the two animal studies cited on this page: a 2012 study in Clinical Nutrition compared a low quality gelatin meal with a whey meal in healthy pigs, and it calls whey the high quality protein in that comparison.

A 2017 experiment in the British Journal of Nutrition measured amino acid digestibility in pigs, not in people. It calculated standardised ileal digestibility values for whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, skimmed milk powder, pea protein concentrate, soya protein isolate, soya flour and whole-grain wheat, and reported that the values for most indispensable amino acids in whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate and milk protein concentrate were greater (P<0.05) than for skimmed milk powder, pea protein concentrate, soya protein isolate, soya flour and wheat. The paper's own results report that, with the exception of tyrosine, the standardised ileal digestibility of all amino acids was not different between whey protein isolate and whey protein concentrate; tyrosine is a dispensable amino acid, so no indispensable amino acid differed. It is an animal study, not human evidence, and it does not show that isolate beats concentrate.

Where do they appear on a Genesee bar label?

Current Genesee labels list whey protein isolate in all three flavors and do not list whey protein concentrate. The finished panel reports 21g protein per 60g bar, and no per-ingredient protein contribution is published.

Ingredient order shows relative weight: 21 CFR 101.4 requires ingredients to be listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight. On current Genesee labels, whey protein isolate is the third ingredient listed, after peanut butter and raw honey. Every flavor contains milk and peanuts, and White Chocolate Toffee also contains soy. Recipes and labels can change. Check the package you receive for the current ingredients, nutrition facts, allergens, and caffeine disclosure.