Towards a more sustainable dairy industry: Integration across the farme-factory interface and the dairy factory of the future

The dairy industry has to do its part in contributing to global food security in a sustainable way to meet the nutritional needs of a growing population. This requires the dairy industry to have an integrated approach across the whole supply chain. Altered on-farm practices, driven by the need for more sustainable methods of milk production, yield milk of different composition and structure. It is therefore essential to develop a holistic approach for efficient and effective conversion of milk into ingredients and dairy products that considers the consequences of on-farm driven changes on milk composition, and its impact on processes in-plant. This paper highlights the historical drivers for a competitive dairy industry and the associated challenges of making consistent and differentiated dairy products when processing milk with altered composition and structure arising from changed on-farm practices. It highlights the processes that have potential for a dairy factory of the future. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.