Non-cow milk production is growing constantly, Dr Nico van Belzen, International Dairy Federation (IDF) Director General said at a recent international symposium on sheep, goat and other non-cow milk.
Recently over 130 experts from 16 countries met in Limassol, Cyprus for the IDF’s seventh international symposium to discuss the latest developments in non-bovine milk sectors.
Topics including husbandry and milk production, technology and nutrition were all presented and discussed at the event, the IDF says. Nutritional aspects of non-bovine milk and developments in technology for dairy products processing were also discussed at the symposium.
Dr Thom Huppertz, Principal Scientist Dairy and Ingredient Technology at NIZO food research said that novel technologies like high-pressure processing or treatment of milk with pulsed electric fields or novel enzymes offer great opportunities for the non-bovine dairy sector.
“Such innovations can enable retention of desirable biological activities that would be lost during thermal processing or creation of novel structures. It is crucial for the success of such applications that the leading aim is benefit to the product rather than development of a specific technology,” Dr Huppertz said.
Dr Nico van Belzen, IDF Director General said that non-cow milk production is growing constantly and that the symposium was an opportunity to learn about new ideas and information on non-cow milk production in order to identify the challenges ahead and the means to address issues through international collaboration.
“We’re committed to support the further development of this sector in an effort to improve a diverse and sustainable dairy industry and deliver nutritional and healthy products to consumers all over the world,” Dr van Belzen said.
The IDF says that the next major IDF event will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, 20-24 September. The IDF World Dairy Summit will showcase the industry’s accomplishments and upcoming projects under the theme “Closing the Nutritional Gap with Sustainable Dairy”.