How we helped this dairy co-op to improve efficiency and enhance the quality of its milk powder
Challenge
Our client is a dairy co-op that had major concerns around productivity and inefficiencies in their milk production process. Typically, when whole milk is delivered to a dairy from a farm, it is evaporated in order to boil off most of the water content and produce milk powder. One of the main reasons behind evaporation is that it makes storage and transportation of the milk easier and more efficient.
The next step in the process is the drying of the resultant milk powder. This is where our client was experiencing difficulties, with the length of time it was taking to complete the drying process to the quality they desired pushing the costs of production up, particularly when it came to energy usage.
Solution
To help accelerate the drying process of our dairy co-op client’s milk powder without sacrificing quality, Camida recommended and supplied lecithin. This versatile ingredient helped improve the milk powder production process by increasing the dispersibility of the milk powder. As it is an emulsifying agent, lecithin enhanced the flowing ratio, thereby shortening the time taken to convert the liquid milk to powdered form.
In terms of quality, lecithin improved the application characteristics of the milk powder, making it more easily dissolvable, have better consistency, and be more durable. According to the Japanese Ministry of Health, milk powder with lecithin incorporated as one of the ingredients is a sure sign of quality.
Results
Incorporating lecithin into the milk powder drying process has significantly reduced the costs associated with drying their milk powder product and enables our client to focus their resources on increasing productivity and delivering better revenue growth.
This move has also boosted their sustainability credentials. With lecithin being a non-GMO product extracted from natural seeds such as soybean, sunflower, and rapeseed, it is completely organic and ideal for food industry usage going forward.
