We talked to Mark Braman, CEO of PanTheryx, about the company’s recent deal with VitaDairy in Vietnam; Sean Yam, L’INTERFORM’s corporate services chief about the potential for Russia to once more accept EU dairy products; and Carolin Hackenberg, category manager for dairy at Tate & Lyle, about the new products presented at Food Ingredients Europe in Paris, recently.
We also have our weekly look at the global dairy markets with Liam Fenton, from INTL FCStone.
PanTheryx signs deal with VitaDairy
PanTheryx, a US biotechnology company working on bovine colostrum-based therapies, has announced a multi-million dollar agreement between its wholly-owned subsidiary APS BioGroup and VitaDairy, a Vietnamese nutritional dairy company.
Under the three-year deal, APS BioGroup has become VitaDairy’s exclusive producer and supplier of a bovine colostrum ingredient, Colos IgG 24h. This proprietary colostrum will serve as the key ingredient in VitaDairy’s ColosBaby portfolio of products for children and mothers across Vietnam. The Colos IgG 24h ingredient has a high level of IgG antibodies, which the company said has demonstrated immune-boosting properties in preclinical and clinical studies.
Mark Braman, CEO of PanTheryx, said, “We couldn’t be prouder to become the exclusive supplier of Colos IgG 24h colostrum for VitaDairy, who are leaders in immunonutrition and focused on improving the lives of children and other vulnerable groups in Vietnam.
“More and more, bovine colostrum is being recognized for its many health benefits as nature’s perfect first food – rich in immunoglobulins, antimicrobial peptides, growth factors, cytokines and oligosaccharides that have been shown to have synergistic effects. As shown through VitaDairy’s partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, this type of nutrition has the power to not only benefit the health of mothers and children, but also to promote public health.”
Nguyen Thi Ha, CEO of VitaDairy, said, “As PanTheryx is the premier manufacturer of the highest quality bovine colostrum products in the world, our partnership with them strategically supports our vision of improving the health of Vietnamese people safely and effectively.
“Not all bovine colostrum is the same. If it does not contain a consistent high level of quality IgG, it is difficult to achieve meaningful outcomes. By exclusively using PanTheryx colostrum, we have confidence that we are delivering only the most efficacious products to our customers.”
VitaDairy has been recognized as the exclusive partner by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health to promote the Vietnamese Year of Immunological Nutrition. Through this partnership, the company and the Vietnamese Ministry of Health are focusing on helping Vietnamese children achieve stronger immunity. Their efforts include launching a series of educational seminars to healthcare professionals and conducting studies that are elucidating the effects of nutrition and the immune system.
Could EU dairy exports to Russia resume?
Italian independent brokers of dairy commodities in Europe, L’Interform, have published a report on the potential implications and scenarios of Russia opening up its dairy industry to once more include imports from the European Union.
In 2014, the EU imposed economic sanctions against the Russian Federation. In response, the Russian Federation imposed import bans on agricultural products (including dairy) from the EU.
As a result of the bans, EU dairy exports (30,000 tons of butter, 257,000 tons of cheese, 21,000 tons of SMP and 26,000 tons of whey powder on an annual basis) with a total annual value of €1.4bn ($1.54bn) came to a complete halt.
The countries most adversely affected by the ban were Finland, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Poland and Germany.
Following the introduction of the sanctions, EU dairy prices (butter, cheese and SMP) continued to decrease significantly, the report noted.
The EU economic sanctions are effective until the end of January 2020, however, L’Interform said that it has been hearing the EU and Russia might be reconsidering their current stance.
Should the sanctions no longer be in place, L’Interform said it expects a short-term positive price shock to European dairy prices and significant business opportunities for competitive EU dairy companies.
Russia currently imports around 250,000 tons of cheese per annum, and EU producers used to enjoy almost 60% of the market share. On a smaller scale, the Russian dairy market also has the potential to open up several tens of thousands of tons of additional butter export for EU producers.
As a result of the sanctions, Russia has increased its internal dairy production, however, the increase in production has not been enough to fill the gap, and to reach a self-sufficient domestic dairy industry. Therefore, Russia has still been relying on dairy imports – although at lower volumes – now predominantly from Belarus. In 2018, cheese imports from Belarus accounted for 83% of total Russian cheese imports.
The EU extended economic sanctions against Russia until the end of January 2020, however, according to L’Interform, some EU members, most notably Italy, Hungary, Greece, France, Cyprus and Slovakia are sceptical about the sanctions, and have called for a review.
In addition, due to the recently-introduced additional US import tariffs on a wide range of EU products, dairy products are facing tough sales conditions to the US market.
L’Interform said its sources believe that the parties might consider changing their positions, but it is not clear if this is being driven by economic factors or if political considerations are also involved.
L’Interform said there is a significant business opportunity for European dairy companies should the ban be lifted, or the ban not extended.
Any increases wold come primarily at the expense of Belarus, the report argues, adding that European imports could also compete readily with newer Russian products.
Tate & Lyle showcases stevia sweeteners and natural flavors at FiE
Tate & Lyle PLC, a global provider of food and beverage ingredients and solutions, showcased some new additions to its growing stevia platform at Food Ingredients Europe in Paris recently.
The company presented its portfolio of stevia-based ingredients, developed in partnership with Sweet Green Fields, including Zolesse Natural Flavour.
This newest addition will join the existing portfolio of stevia solutions, which has been specifically designed to boost taste profiles and lower cost-in-use across a range of product categories, including dairy products, hot and cold beverages and confectionery.
Solutions for fruit preparation in dairy
Tate & Lyle staff were on hand to speak to manufacturers on how stevia sweeteners can be used to create sugar-reduced fruit-based and flavored dairy yogurts and how to formulate no added sugar dairy beverages or dairy alternative products.
A range of prototypes was on show, including a 35% sugar reduced strawberry yogurt with Intesse Stevia 2.0 and a sugar-reduced apricot fermented coconut dessert with Intesse Stevia 2.0 and Hamulsion Stabiliser System.
Carolin Hackenberg, category manager for dairy at Tate & Lyle, said, “These stevia sweeteners provide manufacturers with more solutions to deliver cost-efficient sugar and calorie reductions across their product ranges, meeting growing consumer demand for great tasting, plant-based products that help consumers to reduce their calorie intake. Consumers are on the lookout for dairy products with less sugar and fewer calories, and our innovative stevia sweetener portfolio can help manufacturers meet this demand.”
