No 9 (2009)

Due to low purchasing prices 90% of the Russian milk producers are close to the edge. Producers incur significant losses (2.5 roubles per l of milk) that effect cows' number. Milk herd has been reduced by 200 thousand heads. Before autumn the major part of small and medium producers will leave dairy breeding and as a result Russian market will suffer from milk products deficiency. This is the forecast given by the Chairman of the National Union of Milk Producers, President of the companies group The Russian Farms A. Danilenko at the press conference that took place on 11 August at the Press Center of the RIA Novosty. The urgent problems of the agriculture and milk processing sector including prices formation were reviewed.

The Serdobskii butter making plant started to operate in 1969. For 40 years the plant has passed the way from manual labor to production lines of last generation. Today it is a JSC Mechta - a modern milk processing operator supplying milk products to various regions of Russia and neighbouring countries. Milk products are manufactured according to traditional recipes with application of advanced technologies. The variety range is so large that the most sophisticated consumer would find something for his taste from more than 25 items.

Efficient management of any production is impossible without prompt and regular exchange of information. It is explained by dynamics of market relations development, high competition, complicated production processes, active application of new technological techniques and methods of production and control, widening of the market etc. All these issues are of special importance at food production. That's why in accordance with the requirements of the international standard ISO 22000:2005 (GOST R ISO 22000:2007) and International standard ISO 9001:2008 (GOST R 9001:2001) one of the key elements of the management system of safety and quality of milk products is provision of efficient exchange of information both between departments inside an enterprise and with outer interested ones.

Many well known and deserving attention companies exist among the Russian manufactures of dairy equipment. One of the best known is the JSC Plavskii machine building plant Smychka. An important event that took place this year was the decision of the shareholders on 26 May to change the name of the plant. Since July 2009 JSC Plavskii Machine Building Plant has got the name JSC Plavskii Machine Building Plant Plava. The main reason for this decision was widening of geography and increasing of sale volumes of new separators models under the trade mark Plava. These are the bactofuge Plava OB-5, separators-milk clarifiers Plava OO-10 and Plava OO-15, cream separators Plava OC-5. As a result both the plant itself and its products have got the same name. The other event of great importance will take place later: at the end of September the JSC Plava will celebrate its 135 anniversary.

Improvement, development of a technological line by the way of process optimization only in one apparatus or in one machine without accounting for connections with other equipment often results in failure to receive optimal complete technological scheme. Hereat technologists and designers, engineers and operators are looking for possibilities to improve efficiency in their own way that corresponds to their speciality. However at lines improvements, creation of completely new lines or lines of new generation it is advisable to choose interdisciplinary approach. In this relation a very interesting is considered to be the system approach to the theory of technological stream.

To-day under conditions of crisis price competitiveness of the finished product is of special actuality. Polyethylene film greatly solves the problem. Recently packing in films is returning its positions in the market, and many consumers buy products in such package because of a lower price. It is worth to mention that price of milk packed in polyethylene film is by 20-30% lower than that of milk in paperboard package.

Any food product is a puzzle that consists of small details having individual form and size. In order to make a complete picture a technologist, as a rule thoroughly and successively tailor each detail (ingredient) for receiving the whole picture (product). And now imagine a kefir product that besides standard ingredients contains living microflora - a detail (ingredient) that does not have clearly defined borders, constantly changes and is difficult to be controlled. Very often producers try to put into frames this living kefir organism and to replace kefir grains with kefir DVS starter cultures. This replacement makes the whole technological process of kefir manufacturing easier, provides its consistent rheological characteristics. This fact is important for both producers and consumers. In order to occupy strong position in the market a producer has to supply an individual, recognizable product of consistent quality

The company Testo Rus (Russian affiliation of the German company Testo AG - a world leader in production of portable measuring devices) is launching in the market a novelty - unique new development - system for collecting and transmission of temperature and moisture data Testo Saveris TM. This invention will become an ideal assistant for making continuous control of the surroundings in food production, at storage, in supermarkets and in other activities where climate control has a leading role. In Europe Testo Saveris is widely applied in milk processing as far as it is well known that milk products storage requires strict keeping of temperature and moisture levels.

Pectin is applied in the technology of milk-juice drinks as a protective hydrocolloid providing possibility to mix milk basis and acid agent with following heating. The recommended minimal dose of pectin that gives stability for the complete shelf life depends on the type and quantity of milk basis. Increasing of the dose improves viscosity and organoleptic indices and gives body. Milk based drinks after acid or juice addition form protein particles of different sizes. As a rule the particle are too large to be stabilized. Introduction of the pectin AP (Andre Pectin) in milk before acid agent promotes the system stability and prevents sedimentation.

An important problem of food products manufacturing is achievement of high quality and safety. Research work has been directed towards actual social problem solution-formation of the healthy nutrition structure, improvement and supporting of the immune status of the RF population at the innovative level. As a result new technologies for fermented milk and milk containing products with extended shelf life, high nutritive and biological values have been developed.

Whey is a great ecological problem for the dairy industry due to high biological demand of oxygen needed for its utilization. In its initial form as a result of small concentration of its constituents whey has no value, but whey components can be applied as food supplements, in feeds as well as an industrial raw material for other sectors. Whey constituents can be concentrated and fractionated by membrane technology. As a result wastes are transformed in a valuable product for market.

About 20 kinds of technical documentation for high quality fermented milk functional products of the line For health have been developed by the GU YaGILMCPP since 2000 till 2006. The products are enriched with lactulose and correspond to the latest requirements submitted to this type of products. In the process of documents preparation specialists of the Rospotrebnadzor department in the Yaroslavl region took an active part.

The round table devoted to the subject Organization of students nutrition under conditions of implementation of anticrisis program of the RF Government took place in the Gosudarstvennya Duma. The meeting was initiated by the Coordination Council of the presidium of the Council of Rectors of Moscow and Moscow region and by the Department of consuming market of the Moscow Government on students nutrition at the support of the fraction Edinaya Rossiya, committees of the Gosudarstvennaya Duma on agriculture and education. Representatives of various relevant structures and bodies took part in the discussions. The aim of the meeting was to give objective evaluation of the situation with students nutrition and to prepare recommendations for its improvement.

Health care and life prolongation are related with healthy nutrition. This is especially important as far as children and teenagers are concerned. Nutrition of young children is actually solved due to participation of parents, local and federal bodies. Nutrition of schoolchildren and students requires solution. Social-economical importance of the anticrisis state program is connected with urgent problem of improving health of young generation that can be done also by improving nutrition of children and teenagers.