The Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing, a component of the new Davis Dairy Plant at South Dakota State University (SDSU), will provide a means by which to expand domestic and global market opportunities for dairy-based products.
The Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing will provide the facilities and experts to assist dairy ingredient manufacturers in research, development and testing of new dairy-based ingredients and processes.
“Historically, the lack of semi-commercial scale pilot equipment in the United States has limited the ability of manufacturers to develop and introduce new dairy ingredients for domestic and global use,” said Lloyd Metzger, director, Midwest Dairy Foods Research at SDSU. “In the past, a dairy-based ingredient manufacturer wanting to test a new product or new system at their plant needed to shut down an entire production line in order to do so. This practice resulted in lost manufacturing time and potential product failure due to lack of real commercial scale-up measurements needed to test production of a new ingredient. The Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing now provides manufacturers with the means to evaluate the commercial feasibility of full-scale production.”
The $10 million expansion of the South Dakota State University Davis Dairy Plant was funded by dairy farmers through Midwest Dairy Association and the American Dairy Association of South Dakota, dairy processors, dairy suppliers, alumni and friends of the SDSU Foundation, the State of South Dakota and South Dakota State University.
The Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing at South Dakota State University is part of the Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center. The Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center includes researchers and facilities at the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University and South Dakota State University, and offers expertise in cheese, whey, milk and dairy ingredient processing, and dairy product safety, flavor and nutrition. With the addition of the Institute for Dairy Ingredient Processing, commercial scale and feasibility studies can be added to trials.