On the road

Been out and about these two weeks, from the European Dairy Association’s policy conference in Brussels, up to London for IFE 2015, to Cologne for Anuga FoodTec. What I have come away with is that the dairy industry seems equipped to handle the almost breathtaking pace with which change is taking place in the field. Or at least they are telling us they are.

Equipment manufacturers are looking to solve processors’ issues in producing new products with new techniques and equipment additions. SPX, for example, is looking to provide mechanical answers to lower fat, higher viscosity yogurt products – skipping the additives and using the properties of milk and whey powders to produce products that consumers want to buy. This is important. If processors want to add new items to their products – I enjoyed cheese with seaweed at IFE15, to mention one item – then the equipment must be able to incorporate that additive without slowing the lines down.

All very interesting and it makes for a lot of good material. Must get writing!