Sector's Süt Akademisi Marks World Milk Day

Sector Milk Academy Marks World Milk Day Karma Grup, which stands out with training and consulting services tailored to the food and beverage sector, organized the new educational program of Milk Academy 2023 as part of World Milk Day activities on 1 June. At the event bringing together sector representatives, World Milk Day was celebrated by consuming milk as a health asset. At Milk Academy, Karma Grup's project bridging innovation between the academy and the dairy industry, current issues driving the sector forward and proposed solutions were discussed. World Milk Day, first celebrated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 1 June 2001, aims to promote milk as a global food and raise awareness of its contribution to human nutrition. Globally, more than 1 billion producers earn their livelihood from milk production, while global raw milk production in 2022 reached approximately 930 million tons. The economic, environmental and social impacts created by such large-scale agricultural practice and its potential to provide effective solutions to malnutrition are discussed each year through World Milk Day. Efforts by the dairy sector to reduce water and carbon footprint have been designated as the main theme of World Milk Day 2023. The second event of Milk Academy this year, through which Karma Grup brings sector-illuminating topics to the agenda, was conducted simultaneously with World Milk Day celebrations. Milk Academy was held on 2 June 2023 at Cemile Sultan Grove, with participation from representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Food and Control General Directorate, academics, leading names in dairy industry and managers responsible for regulations in the sector. Participants did not neglect to consume dairy and dairy products containing many beneficial components for health. The new educational program of Milk Academy, which addressed national and international regulations on milk and geographically indicated products, was prepared by Karma Grup in collaboration with Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture Department of Dairy Technology. The Association of Packaged Milk and Dairy Products Manufacturers (ASÜD) and Turkey Dairy, Meat, Food Manufacturers and Producers Association (SETBİR) served as supporting institutions for the event. At Milk Academy, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Barbaros Özer, Faculty Member of Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture Department of Dairy Technology; Prof. Dr. Barbaros Özer, Kemal Altınkılıç, Chair of the Chamber of Commerce Animal Food Products Profession Committee, Nazif Koca, Deputy Director of Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Cengiz Alpsoy and Zuhra Tepe from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Food and Control General Directorate, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Tekelioğlu, Chair of YÜciTA, Birol Delibaş from Pınar Süt and Didem Altuntaş, Director of Regulation Department at Karma Grup shared valuable information with participants in their presentations. Prof. Dr. Barbaros Özer, Faculty Member of Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture Department of Dairy Technology and Education Coordinator of Milk Academy, stated that the new program of Milk Academy organized within the scope of World Milk Day aims to assess the role of current national and international regulations in innovation and sustainability of international trade.

Unregistered production and high input costs remain problems in raw milk production…

Prof. Dr. Barbaros Özer, celebrating World Milk Day on 1 June while emphasizing the importance of healthy and reliable milk consumption, stated: "The nutritional quality of milk, alongside its unique role particularly in infant and child nutrition, further increases its value given that it is a widely practiced agricultural and industrial activity. Turkey, ranking high in global and European rankings in raw milk production, produced a total of 21.6 million tons of raw milk in 2022 according to Turkish Statistical Institute data. In our country, per capita milk consumption is approximately 146 liters, of which 23 liters is drinking milk and the remainder is defined as dairy product equivalent. These figures stand at around 292 liters in the USA and 342.5 liters in the EU. Efforts to increase consumption of milk and dairy products, which play an important role in raising healthy generations, need to be intensified. In this regard, implementing the School Milk program on a year-round basis, increasing support for consumption of milk and dairy products that have undergone quality control and inspection processes, and providing support to infants and children unable to consume milk and dairy products due to economic constraints are important. Although Turkey faces serious structural and financial challenges in milk production, the dairy industry's level of technology use is at quite a good point. However, it should not be forgotten that safe milk and dairy products will become increasingly difficult to access if effective steps are not taken to eliminate unregistered production in raw milk production and to reduce input costs in milk production. In the EU, 97 percent of raw milk is processed at industrial scale on a registered basis, while in our country this ratio is approximately 45-50 percent. In a sense, approximately half of the raw milk produced is marketed unregistered or used at farm level. Reminding the importance of healthy and reliable milk consumption, we celebrate World Milk Day." Sinem Bahçekapılı, Sales and Marketing Coordinator at Karma Grup, stated that the final 2023 program of Milk Academy was held under the title "Regulations" and brought the sector together on World Milk Day, saying: "We extend our thanks for the valuable contributions of Kemal Altınkılıç, Member of the Chamber of Commerce Animal Food Products Profession Committee who hosted our program at Cemile Sultan Grove, Nazif Koca, Deputy Director of Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, and all our participants. We have successfully completed the Milk Academy 2023 trainings, which have generated intense interest in the sector. In October, we will bring together industry and academy representatives at the 3rd National Dairying Congress. We will continue content work on Milk Academy, which will start again in 2024 under the coordination of Ankara University Faculty of Agriculture Department of Dairy Technology faculty members and Prof. Dr. Barbaros Özer. Our aim is to prepare programs that will provide the greatest benefit to the sector."