Food security – the DeLaval perspective

Stephan Lais, Vice President Central Europe at DeLaval, talks about DeLaval’s and the dairy industry’s role in promoting food security in the world.

Please explain DeLaval’s approach to food security?

At DeLaval, our dairy solutions and experts around the world enable farmers to optimise their operations and milk yields, which promotes food availability. We also have a proactive beyond-compliance approach to food safety in order to ensure chemicals and bacteria don’t end up in milk.

Could you provide some examples of how DeLaval promotes food safety?

Our digital sensor solutions verify that all piping in milking lines are clean and enable farmers to easily detect and remove milk deposits that can enable bacteria growth. DeLaval has produced very high-quality milk filters for around 50 years to ensure that nothing contaminates the milk. Another example is our DeLaval VMS™ V300 robotic milking system, which is equipped with the unique PureFlow™ solution that cleans teats purely with warm water and compressed air.

How do you verify milk safety and quality?

In Germany for example, all our new installations are assessed by a third-party to verify they are operating correctly and ensure food safety. We also have a certification process for our dealers’ technicians to ensure quality (VDMA certification).

How does the dairy industry promote nutrition around the world?

Milk is one of the most important food stuffs, and is of huge nutritional importance to people all around the world – particularly for the growth and development of children. DeLaval, together with Tetra Pak, is involved in the Tetra Laval Food for Development programme, which establishes dairy hubs to educate local farmers in emerging markets to help them increase their milk yields, cooperate and find markets for their products.

Does DeLaval help farmers avoid food waste?

Besides helping farmers to produce effectively, our milking systems also help them ensure milk quality, which can significantly reduce food waste.

How will DeLaval continue to promote food security in the future?

We will continue to lead the industry by continuously developing new and improved solutions, and working with our partners and farmers to promote food safety, increase milk yields and reduce waste. By being at the forefront of the industry, I strongly believe we will ensure the dairy industry in general is well positioned to continue to promote food security for people all around the world.