Milk collection and cold chain infrastructure are often perceived as the most challenging link in the dairy farming supply chain.
Fonterra has pioneered three cutting-edge technologies to drive sustainable improvement in milk quality from “rapid chilling technology” to instantly preserve milk, “milk fingerprinting” screening that ensures milk supplied is of the highest quality, to the company’s own end-to-end “traceability” system that makes the entire journey of raw milk to finished product completely transparent.
A key challenge faced by milk collectors is milking-to-chilling time. Fonterra installed rapid chilling technology, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka to reduce the risk of quality deterioration. This allows the instant chilling of milk to 4°C in seconds – a safe way to preserve milk faster and closer to the farmers who supply it.
The Milk Collection Centres play a critical role in terms of quality testing and screening of milk. Fonterra pioneered the use of ‘milk fingerprinting technology’ in Sri Lanka across all its milk chilling centres to ensure that the quality and integrity of milk supplied is intact. This equipment is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world and is Sri Lanka’s most stringent form of raw milk screening in use today.
While firm steps are taken to ensure milk is of the highest quality, Fonterra believes it is vital to have complete visibility of milk back to its source. The company introduced a world-class electronic traceability system in Sri Lanka which can track milk used for its Anchor and Anchor Newdale fresh dairy products, with 100% documented traceability to the farmer. This provides Fonterra’s on-farm support team the opportunity to work with farmers to further uplift their on-farm quality practices.
“Such advanced supply chain technologies help us ensure that the best milk is supplied from our farmers and made into the highest quality dairy products for our consumers,” said Managing Director of Fonterra Brands Lanka, Ms. Vidya Sivaraja. “These efforts are reviewed by a New Zealand milk quality team through an annual audit conducted on-ground, to ensure that we meet globally acceptable standards in everything we do.”