News milkways
Entering the world market with liquid milk
The Dutch company Milkways has found a way to transport liquid milk over longer distances. In this way, countries where milk production is not climatologically efficient can still gain access to fresh milk. "The climate benefits from this."
Milk is now often sold in processed products as milk powder on the world market, but according to Milkways this can also be done differently. The company has developed a technique in which liquid milk is transported in refrigerated bulk containers, without losing taste and quality. The patented technology is based on transporting orange juice over longer distances.
In the meantime, the first test volumes are already from the Netherlands transported to Saudi Arabia, where 250 tons of 40-day old milk were processed into dairy products on site. Several research panels (including NIZO) subsequently concluded that there was no taste and quality difference compared to products made from fresh milk, Milkways claims.
Cow in natural habitat
According to Diederik Brasser, CEO of MilkWays, it is much more efficient and sustainable to produce milk in countries with a mild climate, such as in Northwestern Europe. "Our approach is to have cows produce milk in the natural habitat, which is the most interesting from both a cost and animal welfare point of view. The liquid milk can then be shipped to overseas sales areas to be processed into fresh dairy products."
The company is thinking of countries in Asia and the Middle East where dairy consumption is increasing rapidly, but keeping cows is usually inefficient. "The production of 1 liter of milk in those countries quickly requires 1.000 liters of water, mainly for the production of (rough) feed," Brasser says. The CEO bases his research on a FAO study that shows that CO2 emissions per liter of milk in South Asia are 3,8 kilos, while in the EU and New Zealand they are 1,5 kilos.
5 million tons of CO2 reduction
Milkways recently received a €7 million subsidy from the European Union to further develop the system. The company aims to transport 10 million tons of liquid milk annually. According to the company, this results in a CO2 reduction of 5 million tons. A supply chain for liquid milk uses 60% less energy than a milk powder chain. Although more volume is transported, the drying process of milk powder uses a lot of energy.
Milkways is currently in discussions with investors in Europe and Asia to accelerate the implementation of the system. Expectations are high. The company recently received a nice review from the Australian minister of agriculture who praised the technology in his country.
Wouter Job
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