A NEW ERA FOR DAIRY INNOVATION Business group: VCI Program: Co-investment I & II o Dedicated innovation centre to position dairy at the forefront of manufacturing research o $15 million investment over three years The opening of Australia’s premier centre for dairy manufacturing science, technology and innovation has begun an entirely new era of research for the Australian dairy industry. Dairy Innovation Australia opened in Werribee, Victoria on 8 January 2007. The centre will enable the dairy industry to stay at the forefront of manufacturing research. The centre’s objective is to deliver commerciallydriven science and technology that has a measurable impact and benefit to dairy companies and the industry. It will invest more than $15 million over the next three years to generate innovations in bulk processing and bulk ingredients; functional foods and ingredients; and cheese starters and fermented products. Dairy Australia is the centre’s major investor. Joining Dairy Australia in the initiative are the Geoffrey Gardiner Foundation and key dairy companies. Full members are Bega Cheese, Burra Foods, Murray Goulburn, Tatura Milk Industries and Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory, while Dairy Farmers, National Foods and Parmalat will invest in particular services of interest. The centre was formed by the merger of the Dairy Process Engineering Centre, Australian Starter Culture Research Centre, UHT Centre, Australian Cheese Technology Program, and Dairy Ingredients Group of Australia. The smooth merger process is a testament to the professionalism of staff within these organisations and the industry’s continued collaborative spirit which will enable the centre to be the prime provider of science and innovation services for Australian dairy companies as well as a major catalyst for industry growth. COMMERCIALISING LACTOSE PARTICLE TECHNOLOGY Business group: VCI Program: Technology o New demand for high value lactose products o Potential for new licensing fees and royalties from the commercial adoption of lactose extraction technology Dairy Australia has invested $4.1 million over ten years in developing a range of technologies that will extract premium lactose products. The program has been successful in commercialising one of the technologies which is now providing returns to Dairy Australia in the form of royalties and licensing fees. These technologies have provided the Australia dairy industry with new capabilities to manufacture and utilise lactose and whey products. Recent improvements in lactose prices provided the opportunity to look at further uses of lactose extraction. This has now led to the commercialisation of these technologies being taken up by an international processing supply company. This success will likely result in new processing plants processing high value lactose with greater yields. The dairy industry, through Dairy Australia will derive a revenue stream from patent royalties on plants built around the world. CODEX CHEESE STANDARDS Business group: TI, T&S Program: Trade Policy Reform, Secure Market Access o New CODEX cheese standards protect Australia’s $825 million cheese exports Over the past 13 years, the CODEX Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) with the technical support of the International Dairy Federation (IDF) has been revising all individual cheese variety standards. The number of standards has been reduced to 16 individual cheese variety standards such as Cheddar, Edam, Gouda, etc. Australia’s trade in cheese exports is significant - almost $825 million annually (2006/07) - and most of this trade is in named variety cheeses affected by these standards. The final adoption of the CODEX standards, on 6 July 2007, provides a sound basis for international trade in these cheeses and protects Australia’s cheese exports. The standards will replace outdated standards, which have been in place since the 1970s, and do not reflect modern cheese making methods or developments in international trade.
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