Oui to whey
8 Mar 2005
Under the agreement, French company, Applexion (part of Groupe NovaSep), has agreed to design, build and sell a new dairy processing technology – developed by Food Science Australia and the University of Western Sydney (UWS) – which converts the dairy by-product, whey, into a range of high-value products.
UWS and Food Science Australia's experts have pioneered the ion exclusion lactose (IEL) technology that separates the lactose contained in whey and purifies it into a valuable pharmaceutical-grade product for use in medicines and health supplements.
The new process is regarded as being an important solution to the problem of how to maximise the value of the 3.3 million tonnes of whey generated each year by
While some whey is currently converted into high-value products, much more is sold cheaply or discarded as waste usually as animal feed or onto fields.
"Our technology gives the Australian dairy industry the opportunity to recover valuable components from their manufacturing waste and potentially generate millions of dollars from what they are currently throwing away," says UWS scientist, Dr. Rosalie Durham.
"Over the last 10 years, with the support of Dairy
The technology expands Applexion’s capabilities in process and product development and turn-key systems for the production of food and pharmaceutical ingredients. The company has already accumulated years of pilot testing experience with the new technology. This expertise in separation technologies ensures that it can confidently scale up industrial plants for the production of demineralised whey and lactose.
Asia Pacific Area Manager for Applexion, Mr. Jean de Lataillade, says an order has already been placed for the first commercial plant, which should be in full-scale production and operation within 12 months.
UWS and Food Science Australia's scientists, Associate Professor Jim Hourigan and Dr. Robert Sleigh, say one of the dairy industry's greatest challenges is maximising financial profit from whey components.
"It's great news for Australian dairy manufacturers, as cheese production rises to meet global consumer demand. Future expansion of some of our large cheese factories has been somewhat limited by the inability to effectively dispose of the tonnes of whey permeate generated daily," says Dr.Sleigh.
"By adapting their existing processes, companies will be able to meet tougher environmental regulations and zero discharge standards that require them to recover and re-use all valuable components in food processing waste."
The research team is adapting the technology to extract valuable substances from sugar, wine, soy, fruit and vegetable processing waste.
