Whey recovery and valorization in SMEs in the Argentine dairy basin, through public private partnership

Strenghthen the dairy SMEs, providing tools for a better environmental management and fostering partnership with high focus in the whey valorization, and to increase food diversity and availabity through better nutritious offer and improving the environmental perfomance. - Diagnostic studies of the situation of the companies generating the whey have been carried out. - Workshops for the conformation of associations that improve the management of whey was implemented at Villa María (Córdoba) and Lincoln (Buenos Aires). -An Argentine reference on the subject, INTI Dairy, is characterizing the whey of 8 SMEs in Lincoln to identify the best asociation alternative for recovery and/or valorization whey available. - The Cluster creation in order to capitalize synergies and reach minimum size to ensure feasibility and profitability for whey subproduct valorization is in execution at LIncoln. - Review and identification of technologies and practices for whey recovery and valorization was completed. - The “Milk Industry Retrofit Roundtable” was conformed. The main stakehokders of the Argentine dairy industry participate in it. - The incorporation of the denomination of milky beverages in the argentine food codex was completed. This would allow the commercialization of drinks derived from whey. - The steering committee of the project, formed by the Secretary of the Government of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Secretary of Agroindustry, meets periodically and synergizes the proposed actions. - Documents for training in sustentable production in the dairy industry, are currently being developed. -Offer whey`s generators a methodology for forming clusters in order to value the by-product and improve competitiveness, facilitate training and knowledge sharing, and reach the appropriate size market for profitable recycling of whey and ensure long term beneficial impacts beyond project conclusion. -Promote the consumption of foods derived from whey, recognizing its nutritional value. -Create a replicable and sustainable management model in which the government, industry chambers, the scientific and technological sector, and consumers participate. -Quantify the environmental impact of the SMEs that generate whey with the incorporation of valorisation technologies and without the incorporation of valorization technologies. -Training in sustainable production and recovery and valorization technologies (R&VT). -Communication’s tools to spread the high biological value of the whey by products suitable for human consumption”. This action is important in terms of feasibility and awareness of a specific group of beneficiaries, mainly vulnerable families with children, who will have a greater availability of information on the nutritional aspects of whey by-products. The stakeholders involved are accompanyng both iniciatives that will be implemented in March 2019.