New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has said it has opened a new processing plant at Hautapu that will improve the company’s value-added manufacturing capability.
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Project manager Rob Boswell said the plant’s milk protein fractionation technology will be used initially for extracting lactoferrin, a high value component of milk which helps to boost the body’s immunity. Lactoferrin is used as an ingredient in a range of consumer products, such as infant formula, yoghurts, dietary supplements, specialty nutritional formulations, and fresh milk.
However, Boswell added that extraction of lactoferrin is just the first step in developing Fonterra’s capability to extract bioactives. Bioactives are high value, minute components of milk that are beneficial to human health and are a major driver of Fonterra’s value-added ingredients business in key markets.
“The really exciting thing is that we will be able to use this technology to extract other target protein fractions or bioactives. The Hautapu facility provides a pipeline for future value-add, innovative specialty milk products and commercialisation of these,” he said.
Construction of the NZ$15m (US$10.3m) Hautapu plant began in March and lactoferrin production started in September.
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By GlobalDataThe total global market for lactoferrin is about 90 metric tonnes a year, with a selling price of US$300 a kilogram or more. About 80% of market consumption is in Japan, followed by Korea with 14%. Fonterra will initially launch the product in these two markets.
