Milk powder processing applications
How can dairies use their surplus milk? The obvious answer is to export it to those parts of the world where local demand outstrips supply. However, issues associated with exporting milk include, short shelf life, large transport and storage costs. Therefore, milk powder processing has great benefits.
Why is milk powder manufacturing necessary?
So, a better option is often to turn it into powder first. Milk powder is a convenient format with flexibility for further processing into a wide range of products. Typically, powder is recombined locally and used to replace liquid milk when local milk is not available or not cost effective. Transforming liquid milk into powder is a great way to lengthen its shelf life and the reduced transport costs make it an efficient way to move milk across large distances. Combined with relatively low cost packaging and storage, milk powder manufacturing can help producers balance supply with demand.
Thanks to our advanced, energy efficient evaporators and dryers, Tetra Pak is well placed to serve the growing milk powder industry. Our solutions are designed to capture economies of scale and meet producers' needs for efficient and economical production. We can make evaporators up to 20 metres high with fans driven by motors at 600 – 700 Kw and our spray dryers for dairy products are industry leading.
Tetra Pak unique milk powder processing offer
However, what's most unique about Tetra Pak is our knowledge of handling powder products. We use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) techniques to simulate trials before carrying out pilot tests in a physical plant. CFD also helps us create the optimal line design for each dairy, ensuring minimal consumption of energy and other utilities.
How to make milk powder
Milk powder is most often used as an ingredient for making chocolate, cheese and baby formula, among a lot of other products. Find out about the basic steps of milk powder production on our equipment including filtration, evaporation and drying.
How to make milk powder
Milk powder is most often used as an ingredient for making chocolate, cheese and baby formula, among a lot of other products. Find out about the basic steps of milk powder production on our equipment including filtration, evaporation and drying.
Processing lines for milk powder production
Best-practice line for Recombined UHT milk: batch production
Batch production is the traditional approach to recombined milk. It gives you the lowest investment cost, but the operational costs are generally high. Batch production is a great solution for small volumes. Tetra Pak can also offer this configuration with elimination of the pasteurization step.
Explore Best-practice lines for UHT milk with OneStep technology
Best-practice line for Recombined UHT milk: OneStep + multistream blending
This is the configuration that gives you everything: the lowest total cost of ownership (which means the highest efficiency). You get high accuracy, which assures consistent product quality and significant ingredient savings. Of course you get high capacity and a small footprint. And you get exceptional flexibility.
Explore Best-practice lines for UHT milk with OneStep technology
Best-practice Continuous ready-to-drink line
This line enables the production of liquid ready-to-drink infant formula. It meets demands for safe, convenient infant formula with higher nutritional value and fresh taste and colour. It ensures accurate and consistent raw ingredient dosing. And it minimizes heat load for maximized nutritional value with secure bacterial reduction. Our line enables uncompromised food safety, high quality and production efficiency.
Explore solutions for Nutritional powders
Best-practice Continuous infant formula line - powder to powder
This line enables the production of powdered infant formula, from recombined milk and powder ingredients. It allows you to produce with high dry matter milk recombination for maximum production efficiency. It ensures accurate and consistent raw ingredient dosing. And it minimizes heat load for maximized nutritional value with the highest bacterial reduction before drying. It achieves desired powder properties at the targeted moisture level. Our line enables uncompromised food safety and maximized quality and efficiency.
Explore solutions for Nutritional powdersExplore equipment for milk powder production
Evaporation is the removal of water from a product to concentrate it. When making powder, this process step takes place just before drying.
Membrane filtration supports efficient production of milk- and whey-based foods and beverages as well as high-value nutrients for infants, sports people, and seniors. It is also used to concentrate plant-based proteins, to purify alternative proteins.
Dry mixing is the process of combining different powders together in a mixing chamber, to create a homogenous product within strict constrains.
Our solution for powder cleaning helps you avoid unnecessary downtime, switch easily from one recipe to another and maintain consistent product quality.
Concentrated product is sprayed into a drying chamber and hot air is applied.
Your mixer is key to giving your consumers the tastes, textures and sensations they’re looking for.
Healthy growth for babies – and producers
Demand for baby food powders is growing very fast, driven by consumer concerns over food safety and hygiene, and a desire for options that are convenient, but still deliver excellent nutrition. Join us for an insight into the factors behind the trend, and the opportunities being created for producers.
