New Products Displayed at Teagasc Food Open Day

9 October, 2003

More than 20 new food and drink products developed by Irish and multinational companies with assistance from Teagasc food scientists at Moorepark, Fermoy, Co. Cork were displayed at a food industry open day run by Teagasc at Moorepark, today (Thursday, 9 October).

The open day, which was opened by the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Joe Walsh, was attended by senior executives from the Irish and multinational food industry and policy makers and technologists in the research and development sector.

The new products include a range of value-added cheeses, baby foods, beverages, functional foods, cream liqueurs, Irish coffee as well as ingredients for a variety of snack foods and prepared ready meals, Teagasc Chairman, Dr Tom O’Dwyer, said they highlight the contribution which the Teagasc food research programme at Moorepark is making to innovation in the food industry.

Among the products displayed was a new infant formula manufactured by the multinational, Wyeth, at its plant at Askeaton, Co. Limerick, and now sold worldwide. The product, which was launched last year, is based on alphalac, a constituent protein of whey. The technology to produce this protein constituent was developed by Teagasc technologists at Moorepark.

Alphalac is a major component of mother’s milk. Therefore, this product represents a major further stage in the humanisation of infant formula. It also demonstrates the role which innovative public research can play in embedding a foreign multinational food company into the Irish innovation system.

The open day also featured the impact of new technology developed by Teagasc, aimed at reducing the reliance on cheddar cheese production. Currently, cheddar accounts for 75% of the 115,000 tonnes of cheese produced annually by the Irish dairy industry.

Teagasc scientists have played a central role in the development of a new cheese, Carbery Blue, now being manufactured by the Carbery Group at Ballineen, Co. Cork. This is a unique product, involving a modified cheddar in which a blue vein has been grown. The highly successful Dubliner cheese, also developed by Carbery in collaboration with Teagasc technologists, was also displayed at the open day.

The intervention of Teagasc technology has also resulted in major advances in the manufacture of Mozzarella cheese. Because of its premier status as a pizza topping, Mozzarella has experienced unprecedented growth in recent years and a novel new process developed at Moorepark has the potential to ensure that Irish manufacturers can meet international competition.

The strong international reputation of Teagasc food scientists in food ingredients is reflected in a large number of successful innovations. These include the development of a yeast extract flavour ingredient for the Carbery Group and the improvement of customer processes for production of cheese-based flavour ingredients. These ingredients have wide application in snack foods and prepared ready meals and are spear-heading the entry of Irish dairy companies into flavour ingredient markets.

The Teagasc process technology has also played a key role in production of a range of natural food colours by the successful Waterford based company, Cybercolor. The company has built up a major market in North America for its products. Another innovative company, National Food Ingredients in Limerick, has availed of Teagasc technology to produce a flavour concentrate for use in a range of value-added confectionery products.

In the beverages area, a division of the multinational giant, Diageo, has used the Moorepark pilot plant to produce flavour concentrates from malt and roast barley. This concentrate is being exported to more than 50 countries for use in a range of beverages. One example is a non-alcoholic drink, called Malta, which is now being successfully marketed in Asia and Africa.

Teagasc expertise was also used by PG Tips, a division of Unilever plc, to develop a unique process for the production of tea with semi-skimmed milk for the vending machine market. The target markets for this new product are Europe, Japan and America. Technologists also played a central role in the production of a new cream liqueur by the award winning company, R A Merry.

Teagasc expertise in functional foods is exemplified in the support provided for the production of new probiotic cheddar cheeses for the Irish Dairy Board and a probiotic table fat spread for the Kerry Group.

Open day visitors saw many examples of innovative and practical solutions provided by Teagasc Moorepark for small food companies. Examples on display included farmhouse cheeses produced by a number of Irish companies and Irish coffee produced by Corbett’s.

Teagasc Chairman, Dr Tom O’Dwyer, said the Irish food industry is now reaping the benefits of the substantial investment in Teagasc food research in recent years.

“The development of new facilities and the recruitment of world class food research expertise since the mid 1990s has enabled Teagasc to play an increasingly important role in technological support for the food industry. Our two food research centres, at Moorepark and at the National Food Centre in Dublin, can now compete with the best internationally. The opening of a new biotechnology centre at Moorepark, early next year, will further strengthen our ability to service the technological needs of the food industry,” he said.