Arla Foods Leads Push for Dairy in Food Aid Programs

AARHUS, Denmark—Arla Foods Ingredients highlighted the need for a global industry push to ensure dairy ingredients are included as an integral part of emergency food programs.

Ingredients derived from milk tend not to be included in such programs – including the United Nation’s World Food Program, which fights hunger in the developing world – because of concerns over their costs.

Arla Foods Ingredients is funding research into the benefits of whey protein and permeate in a bid to demonstrate that dairy ingredients are affordable and superior because they are so nutritionally dense. This means smaller quantities can be used compared to alternatives such as vegetable proteins. In addition, dairy ingredients can be blended with proteins of other sources to create food aid products that offer excellent all-round nutrition.

However, Arla Foods Ingredients said a collective industry effort is required to show that dairy ingredients can be an economical option, because for ingredients to be accepted and approved by emergency food programs, they must be available worldwide.

“Even though we are an international business, we don’t operate in every region that benefits from aid initiatives like the World Food Program," said Henrik Jorgen Andersen, senior R&D manager at Arla Foods Ingredients. “This means the global dairy ingredients industry must stand together to make sure we can deliver affordable high quality products in every geography touched by these programs."

“Consequently, only if other major dairy ingredients companies join us in this effort can we succeed in persuading the organisers of food aid programmes that our products have a key role to play in the war on hunger," he added. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for the industry to show that we are not just about commercial success, but that together we can also offer the international community powerful solutions to tacking the global challenge of hunger and malnutrition."

Arla Foods Ingredients showcased its work in this area at the recent International Whey Conference in the Netherlands. Ingredients such as whey and permeate could be used in ready-to-eat products designed to address moderate malnutrition. They are typically produced as a paste that’s packed with nutrients and easy to consume.

Arla Foods Ingredients has also supported a clinical trial, which shows that it’s possible to make products like these with milk proteins, according to Andersen. The full results have yet to be published.

Recently, Arla Foods Ingredients and German dairy co-operative Deutsches Milchkontor (DMK) began production at a new whey and lactose production facility.