Supporting the sector with knowledge

The Dairy Industries Expo opened on Wednesday 29 October at NAEC Stoneleigh, with dozens of exhibitors on-site and sharing their wares with the public, ranging from very large bags to dairy analysis and everything in between.

In the seminar theatres, Dr Judith Bryans, chief executive of Dairy UK and honorary member and past president of the International Dairy Federation, began as our first speaker. Her talk, “Sustainability without borders, the dairy sector’s global journey,” detailed the good work dairy is doing on its Dairy Roadmap in the UK, and dairy as an industry worldwide. “Five years ago, most of the discussions were talking about the challenges around reducing emissions, but the socials and economic pillars were being ignored. There were an an awful lot of calls in the global north to reduce dairy consumption and they were ignoring dairy’s nutritional, societal and environmental benefits. Many of the policies weren’t helpful or practical if the policy makers knew how dairy was made.

“I’m not going to dwell on this, as we’ve moved today to being really positive. In 2023, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) held a conference about sustainable livestock transformation, and this year, held their second conference. Rather than negativity, the meeting was about partnership, scalability of sustainable solutions, with many people in both public and private sectors gathering for a wonderful start of season of sustainability events.

“Thanawat Teinsen, the assistant director-general, director of the animal production and health division (NSA) and chief veterinarian at the FAO, really engaged in collaboration with the dairy sector. All of his messages were very positive and collaborative.

“So, why did things change from negativity to positive? Covid, the war in Ukraine and the uncertain global geopolitical landscape have put food security and the importance of agriculture in the spotlight. World demographics have shifted, with the UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs predicting that 68% of the world’s population will live in urban areas by 2050. They will be more disconnected from food but will need more high quality food.

“At the same time, older people over the age of 65 are the planet’s fastest growing age group. By 2050, older persons will outnumber adolescents and youth (aged 16 to 25). The highest growth rate will be in Latin America and southeast Asia, so it’s on us and those we work with – more agricultural resilience is key now and for the future. In the global dairy sector, people are keen to partner and collaborate.

“Global dairy represents  630 million farmers, and six billion people consume dairy regularly. Around 37 million farms are headed by female farmers, and it is the top traded agricultural commodity by volume. A lot of people work in dairy, either at farm level and its subsidiaries – we matter, we’re significant, and we are also leading also in finding solutions for the environment.

“Meanwhile, there has been 80 years of IDF of partnership with the FAO. It is beautiful recognition of dairy leadership in the 40 countries globally, and includes a vast proportion of the dairy supply chain around the world, covering 85% of milk consumption, and all areas from farm to consumer. It is a global consensus, and a very strong part of it is in the UK. The IDF and FAO in the last few years have been developing initiatives that move us all together. We are looking at diverse farming systems, and innovations in some countries that can be used for others, with knowledge sharing, data collection and engaging –  dairy understands that if you want to tell your story, then you need to have the evidence base to do that.

“Last year in Paris, FAO came together with the IDF in the recognition that, when looking at the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, many will not be met without the help of the dairy sector. Sustainability, looks at nutrition and social and economic issues, and is different depending on what part of the world you’re from. What you see is different, depending on where you sit.

“Collectively and individually as countries, there is an awful lot going on in dairy. In there UK, there is the UK Dairy Roadmap. The one value chain, one vision, role came together, set targets and the most positive initiatives have come in between farmers and processors. We have never stood still with it and the whole value chain joined – farmers, processors, retailers, food service, government, NGOs. It sends a strong signal for our commitment to one value chain, one vision and being the masters of our own destiny, making sure whatever decisions are made are enacted.

“Other industries have now based their models on our roadmap, which was established back in 2008. We find that collaboration on the UK Roadmap is a great way forward, as it stops everyone running off in different directions. It has kept us together and the dialogue open as well as the opportunities, Right now, we are working on water quality, biodiversity and packaging, along with a whole raft of areas.”

Society news

The next up was Michael Pinches, president of the Society of Dairy Technology, who detailed the Society’s activities and what help it provided the larger dairy processing industry. “We have about 500 members, drawn mainly from the UK and Ireland, and we publish the International Journal of Dairy Technology, a leading processing journal with a high impact factor. SDT is all about facilitating contacts, the transfer of knowledge and networking opportunities. We have been set up in six regions throughout the UK,” he noted. “It’s about  inviting people to come together for an evening, and interacting to promote food safety, because the different aspects of food safety is everybody’s business.”

Additionally, there are e-learning  modules to support workers in the industry, with five core modules, including milk production. “We are a gateway to continued education, with a deep engagement with academia and industry partners. We’re not trying to be everything to everybody, but we’re trying to be there for everybody,” he added.

Cable management with EHEDG

The thought of cleanliness and freedom from cable ties, was a key theme at the SDT Autumn Meeting, and the Dairy Industries Expo’s presentation continued this. Michael Evers, international business development manager at Niedax Group in the Netherlands, and a European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group (EHEDG) board member on hygienic cabling in the food plant asked, “Why is food safety important? The issue of a food recall, due to allergens, foreign bodies, or out-of-spec product, can result in many detrimental effects: the cost of a recall is very high, it can cause brand and reputation damage, and a company can be out of business in no time.

“With updated European legislation, DIN EN 1672-2:2020, it is more focused on processing areas, and how to deal with food safety and hygienic design. The rules state this: Routing of cables and pipes, open hollow profiles shall not be used for routing of cables and pipes. If for technical reasons hollow profiles are unavoidable, they shall be sealed. Open type trays and supports shall be used wherever possible. Flexible cables and pipes shall not be bundled. Cable ties shall not be used or shall be removable. Flexible cables and pipes shall be routed loosely in open supports so they can move during the cleaning process.”

Hazards for the factory in the cabling can include biological hazards, such as spoiling and food poisoning, chemical hazards, or physical hazards, such as injury to employees. “Hygienic design doesn’t lead to more costs – rather, once it’s operational, it can help deal with cable management inside the production area,” Evers noted. The open tray and the use of springs instead of cable ties meant the cleaning could be more comprehensive, while the use of more remote I/O and wireless controls means that there can be fewer cables inside a food production area.

The Dutch EHEDG national working party asked cleaners how the process could be made easier. The result was to avoid the cable bundles, not to put things too tight to the wall, or outside the reach of the cleaner. By using springs instead of the cable ties on an open system with a welded bar and a removable spring, all the cables are fixed inside the spring without cable ties.

As for practical cable laying, installation is very quick. A test was run for cable cleaning where the cleaners were not told how to clean, and the results compared the traditional assemblies and the spring ones. As Evers noted, “We started with the food companies, because they need the clean requirements.” The guidelines also look into things such as tags, labelling and so forth. Adopters of the spring technology have found that replacing a cable is quicker and easier, and companies such as Unilever have now foregone cable ties and used this system.

ISO and compositional analysis

Sarah Flynn, area sales manager of Ireland and Northern Ireland from CEM, spoke about “Rapid, Safe & Green Compositional Analysis in Dairy Processing” at the Expo. Analysis, she stated, was about making reference methods rapid and accurate. “The CEM Oracle is the newest nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) fat analysis and we wanted to change it to a new way of doing things. The system has now become the reference testing worldwide, with ISO accreditation on dairy and dairy products – it is a perfect synergy of physics and chemistry. It is quite simple with no calibration maintenance, and a 30 to 90 second analysis time,” she said.

For example, in Ireland, infant formula milk products are used. What the system does is excite the protons on the fat, and as they drop back, it records the energy released, offers a full presentation of the fat, and identifies the peaks of moisture. “There are seven calibration steps for typical NIR/FT-IR, but zero for the Oracle. It is really accurate, with a very small 0.01 and 0.06 range,” she observed.

Flynn also noted that the machine doesn’t use any hazardous solvents, which reduces waste. “With this, we can give multinational companies a reading, and they will have the same reading globally, which leads to an awful lot of consistency and trust,” she stated.

The drive to Net Zero

Tiphaine Aries of the Carbon Trust was up next with the topic of, Driving Dairy Towards Net Zero. “We all know the UK food sector contributes to UK emissions and faces quite a few challenges. With net zero as a trajectory, with internal and external pressure, how do you properly quantify data from your upstream, accounting correctly for what’s being done?” she asked. “There is also a lot of pressure on capital expenditure, with lots of different technologies available.”

The challenges are fairly complex, she noted. “The challenge around CAPEX and the retrofitting of plants is that you need it to make business sense. The external pressures UK commitments and the different dairy pathways presented, shows the importance of collaboration across the chain.

“On the consumer side, the increase in demand for dairy globally means we have to look at how do we produce more sustainable dairy, with more transparency and lower carbon products. The climate risks and opportunities need to make sense for the business and strategies, as a stronger way forward for the organisation,” she observed.

Government policy and financial incentives also have an impact on making changes, Aries said. “There are also changing legislation expectations and carbon taxes, so businesses should see this as an opportunity to create growth. It’s about a focus on the opportunities and a new landscape and push to lower carbon products.”

There is a fair amount of innovation on-farm, she said. “We do see lot of farming trials happening, with increases in technology and innovation trials, with more circular systems. There is more opportunity for the farming side to take advantage of carbon sequestration and soil sequestration.”

After working to secure scope 1 and scope 2 improvements, the next step is scope 3, which is about the whole food chain system and footprinting, according to Aries. “It’s about everything from farming to tackling processing logistics and packaging, and transitioning between the last mile of delivery space. New technology is shifting the way we look at dairy processing, with renewables, different types of energy, waste optimisation, process efficiency, packaging innovation, different specifications, lots of opportunity, using lower carbon materials, and altering the recycling content all key parts of the equation.

“Regenerative agriculture has been around for hundreds of years, and is not a new thing. It is definitely gaining traction for being more integrated. It’s all about how we create a farming system that works together – animals, crops systems and landscapes – not working against nature but working with nature. These lead to biodiversity benefits, and to financial benefit in the medium to longer term,” she concluded.

Getting water smart

Anna Ranki, sales manager for Colloidtek, spoke about Smart Manufacturing.

She said processors often see water as a cost, but it can also be a reputational risk. “In a majority of the dairy plants, people overclean because they don’t see what’s inside the pipes. It’s about optimising the liquid processes, improving efficiency and productivity, and this comes along with reducing product loss and water consumption,” she pointed out. She detailed a case study of what they achieved in one dairy creamery, where the customer was seeing a 2.5 per cent loss in each processing cycle. Once the valves were optimised based on Collo data, and the areas for improvement were analysed, the customer was able to cut down the cleaning time, with 1,000 litres of water saved per cycle. It also saved 25 per cent of the cleaning time in CIP cycles, as the plant was using over 6,500 litres of water more than was needed for CIP. CIP optimisation and analysis turned into actionable insights, and the return on investment was very fast, she said. Installation online is also very easy, Rankl noted.

Rapisense to the rescue

Maggie Rayakova of the University of Strathclyde, discussed the introduction of Rapisense, which is about better technology for the detection of antibiotics in milk. It is part of the Digital Dairy Chain research with scientists in Scotland and England.

The challenge was about catching contaminants earlier within the supply chain, and improving the way testing is done, she noted. “Accurate tests can be time consuming, and may be up to 12 hours. In the meantime, batches are wasted as a result, with millions lost in a year.”

The researchers asked how can these operations be improved and looked at the electrochemical biosensors that are already in use in blood glucose meters for diabetes management. “The process is very quick and informative doesn’t require a large sample, so we asked, what’s to stop us using it in dairy?” she said.

“Rapisense is something we are developing in our labs, for improving testing onsite at the farmgate, starting with antibiotic detection. We are also looking at other unwanted toxins to search for, such as chlorates, mycotoxins, pesticides or hormones.”

Plastic recycling is a Wrap

The UK Plastic Pact has seen the dairy industry leading on sustainable packaging, according to Paddy Duggan of NGO Wrap, speaking at the Expo. The non-governmental organisation examines sustainability challenges through the lens of people’s day-to-day lives globally. The pact has now gone global and is in large areas of the planet, in both national and regional areas.

There are four fundamental targets: for all plastic packaging to be recyclable, reusable or compostable, to have 30% average recycled content, bottle to bottle, by end of 2025, and have 70% of plastic effectively recovered from market. In dairy, examples of moving to single materials, recycling content and polymer switching have included grated and block cheese, milk bottles and the removal of PVdC and polystyrene. Wrap has produced a report on the progress made in the various industries (www.wrap.ngo)

One success story is removing problematic items from the waste stream, such as straws, Duggan said. While the target dates of the end of 2025 might not be fully reached (partly due to Covid), the goals have been optimised, and people are looking to scale, reuse and refill, support circular infrastructure and harmonise the data.

“The dairy industry is one of the big workhorses towards these targets. Milk bottles are collected by every local authority, and recycling these began in the late 90s – this was led by the dairy industry. Most of the dairy customers have 30-40% recycled content in their bottles. It is more expensive than virgin polymer but they also now have caps that are the same colour as the bottle – the bottled water sector is copying this. Dairy led that trend,” Duggan observed

In yogurt pots, polystyrene use has moved to PP or PET. In Northern Ireland, Yogi the yogurt pot has been marketed to promote removal of PVdC and the drive to mono materials. For grated and block cheese, there has been a massive move into mono materials. Another area is milk and yogurt sticks, which are moving to recyclable materials. A further focus for the sector is now plastic packaging for laundry detergent and home care, looking at contaminants in packaging, and the development of how to get materials through the system.

In the future, there will be examination of bottle labels, as well as having one portion of the UK, Northern Ireland, be compliant with EU formats. However, Duggan noted that Wales is the second best recycler globally, with the amount going to landfill reducing. As more recycled polymers have higher quality, the use of them is also increasing.

Heat pumps and Tetra Pak

Ajay Shukla of Tetra Pak Processing, detailed the work the packaging giant is doing, in working towards sustainable dairy operations with new concepts and technologies. When looking at ways to optimise, Tetra Pak went to the heart of the process line, in  heat exchangers and pasteurisers, and it now offers factory sustainable solutions, a new Tetra business unit. “Energy is a huge contributor for carbon emissions and we can reduce emissions by integrating the heating elements into the heat pumps for energy re-use,” Shukla explained. “An integrated heat pump system can cut energy use by up to up to about 70% and reduce carbon emissions by up to about 600 tonnes per year with a Tetra Pak  system.” its system is called HighLift and offers efficient steam production via electrified heat recovery.

“All the infrastructure around doesn’t have to be changed as it is modular installation. We can match supply and demand in the factory, and improve the performance. The company will work together to do the decarbonisation with the processor, both from the government side (grants and laws), and on installation times,” he noted.