Washington, D.C. – Two cultured products — Yoplait Berry Pomegranate Yogurt & Juice and Dill Pickle Sour Cream Dip — were named the most innovative milk or cultured products at the International Dairy Foods Association's Innovative Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Contest last week in Minneapolis. The competition is a popular part of IDFA’s annual Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Conference.
This year the contest drew 12 entries, and the more than 95 milk and cultured dairy professionals attending the conference tasted, judged and selected the winners.
Yoplait Berry Pomegranate Yogurt & Juice, a mix of yogurt and blends of fruit juices, won in the most innovative product category. It was entered by Kemps LLC. Dill Pickle Sour Cream Dip won the most innovative prototype product or flavor category; it was submitted by Trilogy Essential Ingredients, Inc.
“This year was another banner year for our Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Conference,” said John Allan, IDFA vice president for regulatory and international standards. “Attendance was the highest it has been in four years and we had 15 sponsors, more than ever before. There was great enthusiasm and engagement among attendees.”
In addition to tasting and judging new products, the attendees heard from Steve Jones, chief executive officer of fairlife, LLC, who shared the company’s strategy to gain consumer credibility for their products in the health and wellness sector. Other conference sessions presented innovative technologies in food safety testing, explained new tools in online measurement of nutrient and solids content and discussed implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Attendees had the opportunity to tour Minnesota-based facilities of Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, and Delkor Systems, Inc., which offers a range of secondary packaging solutions for the dairy industry.
The Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Conference is the only meeting that focuses specifically on milk and cultured dairy products research, technology, new market trends, food safety, labeling and marketing opportunities.
A complete list of contestants is available here.
IDFA would like to thank the sponsors of the Milk and Cultured Dairy Products Conference for their generous support; they are: Atlantium Technologies Ltd.; California Custom Fruits & Flavors, Inc.; CSC Sugar LLC; Delkor Systems, Inc.; Dairy Foods Magazine; Foss North America Inc.; Fruitcrown Products Corporation; GEA Group; Ingredion Incorporated; KROHNE, Inc.; Neogen Corporation; ProSpect Analytical Technology; Quality Management, Inc.; Separators, Inc.; and TIC Gums, Inc.
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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C, represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.
Source: The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)
