Producing milk from powder is common practice in the Middle East, Far East and Africa, where milk is seen as a good source of protein but there is an insufficient supply of raw milk.
Sadafco places second order
Sadafco started commercial production on the first OneStep line from powder in December 2013 (previously only available for production from raw milk) and has since placed its second order.
Bengt Eliasson, manager of Centre of Expertise, Dairy Aseptic, Tetra Pak, told DairyReporter, it partnered with Sadafco because it is one of the biggest dairy’s in Saudi Arabia and is always on the lookout for new and innovative technology to give itself a competitive advantage.
“We have worked with Sadafco for many years and know that safety and quality combined with the highest efficiency is of utmost importance to them; it seemed like a perfect choice to partner on developing this solution with them,” said Eliasson.
“Since the Sadafco pilot, we have started working with more customers. “We believe our OneStep technology presents an opportunity to increase sales and expand our market reach in the region and globally.”
The expansion is a result of streamlining Tetra Pak’s High Shear Mixer and Alfast in-line blending unit into one continuous step: skim milk powder is mixed with preheated water to make a concentrate, which is then blended with water and fat before undergoing UHT treatment.
The technology removes the multiple steps of pasteurisation and intermediate storage in the traditional process of preparing milk from powder before UHT treatment and can reduce milk waste.
The process can be used to produce one single product, or configured into multiple streams to produce a number of recipes. It can also be used to produce formulated milk, which combines liquid milk or powder with fat and flavour to create flavoured and value added milk or lactic acid drinks.
Reduces energy consumption by up to 40%
Raffaael Reinders, director, Manufacturing, Sadafco said the company has been able to reduce its energy consumption by up to 40% thanks to OneStep, whilst doubling production capacity.
“The new system has enabled us to reduce production losses by as much as a third. The return on investment for the two lines was less than two years,” he added.
According to Eliasson, the milk market in the Middle East, Asia and Africa is an expanding, but competitive market, and as the cost of milk powder is high, producers are constantly searching for ways to keep production costs down.
“In markets like the Middle East, dairy farming industry is less developed due to a number of factors, including the climate and the short life cycle of fresh milk. Milk made from powder provides an accessible and affordable alternative. It has the same nutritional value as fresh milk, making it perfectly suited to the Middle East as well as Asian and African markets.”