The Teagasc Food Research Centre in Moorepark, Fermoy was the venue last Thursday for the announcement of a new collaboration agreement between Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII) and Teagasc in the areas of dairy ingredients and processing. The development of scientific capability to support the generation of value-add in the cheese and dairy ingredients space will be the focus of the arrangement.

Speaking at the launch, Teagasc Director Professor Gerry Boyle said they were delighted to extend their existing excellent working relationship with GII to the food research area, explaining that with the abolition of milk quotas and an increasing milk pool, there is a need for rapid transfer of scientific know-how for development of dairy ingredients with new end uses in export markets.

“This collaboration combines Teagasc’s extensive capability in dairy chemistry and processing with GII’s knowledge and expertise in dairy and nutritional ingredients with the goal of bringing new innovative products to export markets,” he said.

To support this initiative, a scientific programme has been agreed between the two parties which will support delivery of the latest developments in dairy science and technology at GII, the largest private shareholder in Moorepark Technology Ltd. At the heart of the new programme is collaboration between Glanbia and Teagasc research and technology staff, working together to capture the latest dairy chemistry and processing know-how from around the world.

Jim Bergin, CEO of GII said: “This collaboration has the potential to deliver the next generation of dairy ingredients for a range of applications globally. As part of the collaboration, Glanbia have located research staff on-site at Moorepark and they will carry out the day to day activities on the programme working closely with key Teagasc staff. This endeavour will be one of the core contributors to GII’s extensive innovation platform over the next five years“

The programme will benefit from access to state of the art scientific instrumentation at Moorepark and the extensive pilot plant facilities of Moorepark Technology Limited capable of fully replicating the commercial operations at Glanbia. The ability to scale up the science ensures the delivery of real commercial application within the programme and adds an important dimension to the existing Glanbia cheese and ingredients programme.