Efforts To Develop New Dairy Products

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32035, 9 July 1969, Page 18

Efforts To Develop New Dairy Products

Secrecy surrounds some of the work on new products and processes by the Dairy Research Institute at Palmerston North.

As they moved closer to the industry In the development of new products and new processes it was often hot possible at an open meeting to talk freely, Dr W. A. McGillivray, director of the institute, told a conference for South Island dairy factory managers, assistants and directors in Christchurch yesterday. This was disappointing, he said, particularly for some members of his staff whose work could not receive the recognition of publication in scientific journals, mention in the Institute’s annual report or discussion at meetings. However, this was necessary if New Zealand was to maintain a pre-eminent position in the world dairying scene. Within 10 Days “As an indication of how closely our competitors follow developments in New Zealand, I was interested to learn when I was in the United States last January that within 10 days of a new milk product being released on the American market, samples were in Australia being analysed and plans were already in hand for manufacture of a comparable

product,” said Dr McGillivray.

Dr McGillivray said tha’ they had continued to devote a great deal of effort to the development of protein products for eating. This had resulted in a number of new casein types, particularly soluble or readily dispersible forms, for which good market outlets appeared to exist among the more sophisticated users, such as the United States. This work had been done in close collaboration with their agents, Western Dairy Products, and their research workers in their laboratory at Petaluma.

Substantial tonnages of one of these products had already been manufactured in New Zealand and were finding a ready outlet in the United States.

Dr McGillivray said that flavour was the most urgent problem with milk protein products for eating. Although they had a number of ideas about the cause of some of the off-flavours that customers were complaining about, they were not yet in a position to make firm recommendations for improving the flavour of commercial casein and related products. However, they had enough information about the flavour of commercial casein to know that by careful selection and the application of some other information about casein flavour they could meet the requirements of even the more discriminating United States users. Dr McGillivray said that the institute was still developing a number of new cheese types with potential markets. Better Powder Considerable effort was being put into upgrading high quality whole milk powder. This was being done in close collaboration with dairy industry manufacturing. “The opposition here is tough and we know that there are some extremely good instant wholemilk powders now available," he said. If the work being done continued as successfully as it had over the last few months a full commercial drier could be in use by the start of the next season on a high qual-

tty powder, at least equivalent to anything being offered at present

Perhaps the most successful of new dairy products had been the wholemilk biscuit which had aroused tremendous interest throughout the world and was being used with notable success in aid programmes. In new products much was to be gained from co-opera-tion with other food processors, said Dr McGillivray. Recently at least one good example of this had led to the development of a new type of protein product Developments of this sort would, almost inevitably involve the use of milk and milk products in association with other materials which might under less challenging marketing, have been regarded as adulteration of dairy produets.