Arla Foods Ingredients (AFI) has developed a new technology that could lead to endless innovation opportunities for dairy products.
The method, called milk fractionation, works to separate milk into its different protein components. The AFI team wanted to deliver the scientific breakthrough to allow scientists, nutritionists, and health professionals to create next-generation dairy products.
With the selection of pure milk proteins, for example, casein and serum whey proteins, this is now possible. By enabling the development of specialised nutrient-specific foods new opportunities are possible such as taking infant formula and sports products to the next level and catering to other vulnerable groups such as the elderly and people with medical nutrition needs.
Previously the separation of milk’s different proteins from whey relied on cheese-making. Now, by bypassing the cheese-making process, Arla’s new patented milk fractionation technology allows for a bigger potential raw material pool and creates protein streams in a unique and fully controlled process with significantly reduced processing steps and much more gentle processing of the milk.
CEO of Arla Foods Ingredients, Henrik Andersen, says he is delighted to see the vision become a commercial reality.
“As science-based innovators, we are driven to invent and reinvent our processes to ensure we have the best possible products available and continue to lead the way in whey.”
The milk fractionation process is being pioneered for infant formula at AFI’s dairy in Videbaek, Denmark to fulfill a growing demand for organic infant formula, a market estimated to increase by 14.1% in the next two years.
Arla Foods Ingredients is currently using the new technology manufacturing the organic Baby and Me brand for Arla Foods and AFI expects to launch its first organic private label infant formula solutions based on the technology during 2022.
