Get more from milk with value addition

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Milk is such a versatile product, which is also enjoyed in its ordinary white liquid form for not only its taste, but its food value.

However, when value is added to milk, especially through innovation, new products emerge—much to the customers’ delight.

Prof. John Muyonga says with milk, the main innovation at Makerere University’s School of Food Technology, Nutrition and Bioengineering has been yoghurt. Yoghurt is basically a fermented milk product.  

“We have also made milk, which is added to porridge flour so that mothers [or even others who enjoy porridge] do not have to add milk before serving it to their children,” he says.

He adds that the ongoing research is on making the most from whey.

“Whey is the fluid that remains during the process of making cheese, which is also rich in nutrients. There is a group working on whey because it is nutritious,” says Prof. Muyonga.

Monday Vian John, owns a farm in Ngoma, Nakaseke, and he is an ardent proponent of value addition. He says he adopted value addition to reduce milk wastage because he sometimes has a surplus of milk production.

“So, we decided to come up with yoghurt. We make products that are sold in supermarkets,” he says.

Additionally, he says, “We looked at our community because the people usually have fresh milk. We use their milk to make more products, and thus creating market for their milk.”