OCTOBER 2025 vol. 127 no. 10
IN THIS ISSUE
Processing Tech: Conveyors and Palletizers Update
Conveyors and palletizers serve as the backbone of dairy plants, helping processors meet these challenges with more sanitary, automated and integrated solutions. Producers are increasingly integrating these systems to communicate with each other, driving greater efficiency across the line.
Packaging Tech
The future of packaging can mean a lot of different things. It can mean new technologies that were just showcased at last month’s PACK EXPO show, areas of growth for the industry, the advancement of artificial intelligence and robotics, or efforts in sustainability, just to name a few.
Outlook Report:
Food Safety
No one wants to get sick or die from contaminated food. Therefore, food safety practices and proper sanitation on the farm and in the plant are pivotal. The Global Food Recall Index study demonstrates the urgency of product safety. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, nearly 400 dairy products were recalled worldwide.
FEATURES
DAIRY FOODS EXTRA
With PROOF Hard Ice Cream currently expanding at a blazing pace, corporate executives acknowledge they will soon outgrow its 4,000-square-foot South Carolina plant.
EXPORTER OF THE YEAR
South Carolina is perhaps where the next great dairy segment has been born: alcohol-infused ice cream. At the forefront of the alcohol-infused ice cream movement is PROOF Hard Ice Cream, led by Jennifer Randall, co-founder and CEO, and Dirk Brown, co-founder and chairman, who founded the start-up in 2014.
FEATURES
INGREDIENTS/R&D
Cheese Doctor
Most of the fat in milk (around 99%) is in the form of triglycerides. Triglyceride molecules consist of a glycerol backbone with three fatty acids attached (or esterified) to it (hence the name “tri” “glyceride”). There are a couple of hundred different types of fatty acids present in milk, of varying chain length and level of saturation, which can be attached to triglycerides, states Dr. John Lucey.
Dairy Detective
Milk is widely recognized as a source of essential nutrients like protein and calcium, but it’s also rich in a unique class of bioactive lipids known as milk phospholipids (MPLs). These polar lipids are naturally found in the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and other membranous material of skim milk phase, note Kritika Gaba, M.S., and Zifan Wan, Ph.D.
Health and Wellness
Mixed-milk products can provide plenty of opportunities for dairy processors. Increasing manufacturer interest in mixed-milk cheeses was on full display during this year’s U.S. Cheese Championship, featuring more than 200 entries competing for top honors, says Mary Wilcox.
Ingredient Showcase
Dairy Foods shines the spotlight on ingredients for beverages.
OPERATIONS
Global Insights
The U.S. has been in the process of building a record amount of new cheese processing capacity that has now been coming online during 2025. One of the most noticeable impacts of new dairy plants is the impact they’ve had on regional milk production.
DF Extra: PACK EXPO
PACK EXPO just completed its 30th anniversary trade show last month in Las Vegas. To take a look back at the history of the trade show, Dairy Foods contacted Laura Thompson, vice president, Trade Shows for PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, and asked her about the history of the show, as well as look at the future of packaging.
Equipment Showcase
We offer the latest rigid and flexible packaging offerings.
DEPARTMENTS
Eat. Drink. Dairy.
Wildwonder unveils pre- and probiotic Blackberry Violet drink; Häagen-Dazs Shops, Baskin Robbins goes all in on pumpkin; and Natural Grocers Brand Organic Yogurt adds new flavors to its private-label options.
Market Trends
When it comes to ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee and tea beverages, easily the biggest story on the positive side of the ledger is RTD cold brew.
"Let’s Talk Dairy" Podcast
Matt Lochmann, project manager at ORBIS Corp., joins Dairy Foods for Episode 57 of the “Let’s Talk Dairy” podcast to discuss the New Dynamics of Foodservice Distribution.
