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An experimental dairy technology research facility for:
Design, Develop, Process and Add Value

• This unique 1000m² facility is dedicated to milk and milk derivatives. 
  It enables pilot-scale trials to be carried out, an essential step in validation and transfer.
• It has an information system that stores the data produced by the instrumented equipment and makes it available to users in complete confidentiality.
• It features an information system that storesdata produced by instrumented equipment and makes them available to users in complete confidentiality.
• It is characterized by its scientific approach, based on a wide range of modular processes.
• It is a privileged location for hosting and collaborating with academic and industrial partners. 

Environment

The platform is supported by the INRAE / Institut Agro Rennes-Angers Science et Technologie du Lait et de l'Oeuf (UMR STLO) joint research unit.

It benefits from:

• the scientific expertise of its researchers, who conduct their research on both real systems (cheeses, etc.) and controlled model systems (purified proteins, etc.)
• analytical support (biochemical and microbiological characterization of dairy products, mass spectrometry, confocal microscopy, etc.)

Missions

• Conduct research projects with STLO teams
• Make its skills and equipment available to companies, technical centers, research or teaching organizations as part of research projects, services or training
• Train users on the platform's equipment

Expertises

Four processes are the subject of specific studies within the platform:

• Membrane separation
• Dairy and cheese technologies
• Concentration by vacuum evaporation
• Spray drying

Other processes:

• Thermization, pasteurization and UHT sterilization of milk
• Centrifugal separation
• Homogeization

A wide range of products are obtained:

• Preparation of milk fractions (micellar caseins, purified serum proteins, minor proteins, etc.)
• Manufacture of cheeses, soft cheeses, uncooked and cooked pressed cheeses, processed cheeses) and ultra-fresh products
• Preparation of concentrates (by vacuum evaporation) and powders - Upgrading of milk by-products (whey, buttermilk, permeates, etc.)

Some examples of projects carried out on the platform:

• Design of model dairy matrices:
  • PROFILAp: continuation of the PROFIL project, financed by the Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions, whose aim was to apply functionalized milk proteins in the form of fractal aggregates to obtain clean-label dairy desserts and cream cheeses, i.e. without food additives.

• Development of innovative processes:
  • From'Innov: as part of the SYALSA metaprogram, the consumer acceptability of the innovation was studied. This breakthrough technology is a solution for adding flavor to solubilized soft cheeses.
  • Tour-free powder: This is a two-stage process, over-concentration and granulation, which offers an alternative to spray drying for the production of dairy powders, reducing the energy footprint of the current technological scheme. Maheschandra Patil's thesis work characterized the evolution of the physical properties of various dairy products during overconcentration and granulation, in order to determine the critical parameters of the new process.
  • NATIVIF: The aim of this Carnot Qualiment project was to develop a technological route for producing an infant powder that retains its proteins in their native state, while being of good bacteriological quality, and to assess its organoleptic and nutritional qualities.

Our scientific skills and technological equipment are available to academic and industrial partners. For further information or to request a service, please contact us.

Gaëlle Tanguy
gaelle.tanguy@inrae.fr
+33 2 23 48 53 29