The company’s Variolac 850 milk solid was previously only available in South America, but production is planned at its site in Norway to bring the ingredient to a wider market.
The milk solid has applications in chocolate formulation, where the firm said it could easily absorb water molecules allowing it to maintain quality in storage for longer.
Arla said the ingredient can also be used to reduce salt content in bread, biscuits and bakery filling and would be an effective a substitute for sugars such as maltodextrin, sucrose and dextrose.
Potential cost savings
Charlotte Sørensen, product manager at Arla Food Ingredients, told BakeryAndSnacks.com: “SWP and lactose commodity prices in Europe have been increasing significantly in the past quarter, and Variolac 850 provides a way of combating these ingredient increases by providing cost savings.
“Manufacturers relying on SWP and Lactose are most likely to see immediate cost benefits with the product,” she said.
“The cost saving is approximately 20-30% versus demineralised whey powder and more or less the same versus lactose (currently more). The cost saving is however huge when customers replace SMP in powder-products & dairy desserts,” she continued.
Increased production capacity
Arla Foods commenced production of the ingredient in Argentina last year and has invested €21m in modern permeate production. The launch in South America was designed to help manufacturers there combat high import duties from Europe or the US.
Sørensen said: “This is a new product for Europe, and we are currently working with clients to introduce it into their recipes. We have large ambitions for this product in 2012 and beyond.”
The company’s capacity to produce Variolac 850 will double when production starts in Norway next year. Arla Foods currently has the capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of the milk solid a year at its Argentina facility. But when Norwegian production is assumed next year annual production capacity will increase to 45,000 tonnes.