Carbery goes organic for whey innovation

According to Carbery, the decision, announced at the opening of the Food Ingredients Europe show, was made because of the small number of organic whey companies in the UK and Europe. A Carbery spokesperson told DairyReporter.com that the focus, as well as meeting huge growth in demand for organic products, also represents a wider strategy of providing "clear label"​ goods for processors, looking to avoids additive use. The market for organic food alone is expected to reach a value of €30bn by the end of 2007, according to figures by industry body organic monitor. Carbery says that its whey proteins have been used for many years in nutrition foods particularly targeted at infants and sports beverages. The company claims that by moving into organic production, it can extend the market for its whey proteins, by tapping consumer demands for more natural and functional products. Organic whey can be particularly ideal in the formulation of organic yoghurts and ready-to-drink dairy and non-dairy yoghurts, according to Carbery. To tap into this market, the group has worked with the industry body, The Organic Soil Association to ensure its operations comply to production standards. The spokesperson added that the company had therefore chosen to convert part of its UK-based plant to produce the proteins. She added that with whey being a natural product, the conversion to organic production had not been too drastic, and the company has ensured that its organic operations at its plant remain sufficiently segregated from conventional production. An additional challenge for Carbery though, has been to ensure that the cheese used to produce the whey is also organically sourced, she added.