Northern Ireland produced approximately 1.8 billion litres of milk in 2010. Converted into liquid milk, powders, cheese, ice cream and butter, the sector had a gross turnover of £774million in 2009 and employs over 2200 people. Our team of technologists is available to assist existing companies and those considering farm diversification. Assistance ranges from technical problem solving, product and process development through to quality management systems and quality evaluation.

Our pilot processing facilities have incorporated the latest Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) technology to demonstrate automation.

Examples of work undertaken:

• The incorporation of functional ingredients in dairy products.
• Development of innovative dairy products.
• The application of new starter cultures/other ingredients in fermented dairy products.
• Shelf life evaluation of probiotic products
• Programmes to review and enhance milk quality
• Specific training programmes for the dairy sector.