Data in Brief for Xu et al.' Establishment of a stable complex formed from whey protein isolate and chitosan and its stability under environmental stresses'

In Xu et al. we investigated the stability of a complex formed with whey protein isolate (WPI) and chitosan under environmental stress, by measuring the optical density, particle size, zeta potential, chemical characteristics, electrostatic interactions, and surface morphology. We found the optimum conditions for the generation of the stable complex were 0.2% (wt/wt) WPI with 0.05% (wt/wt) chitosan at pH 5.7. The complex displayed stable physiochemical characteristics under environmental stresses including NaCl (0–75 mM) or sugar (0–5%) at ambient temperature and upon heating for 15 min at 25–65 °C, up to 65 °C for 30 min. Moreover, the complex could be stably stored for 30 d at 4 °C and for 20 d at 25 °C.