New Irish Dairy Innovation Centre Established
The Irish Dairy Board (IDB) and Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, have jointly announced the creation of a new Dairy Innovation Centre based at Moorepark, County Cork. The objective is to develop market led product concepts which can be manufactured by IDB members and marketed internationally by the IDB.
The initiative is a response to the IDB’s medium terms plans to maximise the expansion opportunities which will be created for the Irish dairy sector when the European Union abolishes milk quotas in 2015 and the Government’s Food Harvest 2020 Report. This partnership is a vital part of the IDB’s strategy to increase the added value element of Irish dairy exports, and Teagasc’s strategy to support innovative research by commercial Irish food companies.
Since September 2010, both the IDB and Teagasc have undertaken a market led, collaborative development programme on cheese and this is progressing positively with four new cheese product concepts currently being developed. Following the establishment of a successful working relationship between both parties, this collaboration is now being formalised in the establishment of the IDB Dairy Innovation Centre, at the Teagasc Food Centre, Moorepark.
The ambition of the IDB Dairy Innovation Centre is to develop a pipeline of both consumer products and value added dairy ingredients. The IDB Dairy Innovation Centre is commercially focused on developing new valued added dairy products which will deliver consumer benefits, such as improved taste, flavour, functionality and nutritional content. The initial focus will be on a range of cheeses, and this will extend to other dairy products.
The programme will have a full time staff of five people supported by four Teagasc scientists and by the IDB’s international marketing and commercial teams.
Initially the Centre will be located at the existing IDB facilities in the Teagasc Food Research Centre, Moorepark. Planning permission is being sought for a new state-of-the-art Innovation Centre in Moorepark to accommodate the second phase of the IDB Dairy Innovation Centre.
