Products and applications

Valio Prime SMP offers exceptional pureness to dry blending IMF production

31.3.2023

Valio’s new ultrapure IMF-grade skimmed milk powder has been created specifically for dry blend production. Valio’s experts spill the secrets of what makes Valio Prime SMP so pure.

The secret to exceptional pureness – only the best raw materials, processed in modern, ultraclean facilities

Valio has been making infant formula for over 70 years and providing others with infant formula ingredients for over 40 years. It is safe to say, Valio knows the ins and outs of the IMF business. The new Valio Prime SMP is built on this legacy of award-winning research and development.

The new ultrapure skimmed milk powder is the result of this knowledge put to good use at Valio’s state-of-the-art Lapinlahti facility. As always, the process starts by bringing in pure, sustainable, and fully traceable milk from local Valio-owned farms. The world-class raw material is then processed according to the strictest hygiene and food safety standards.

“The new, cutting-edge production line where Valio Prime SMP is produced is the cleanest milk powder production line and it complies with the absolute strictest monitoring standards. Our experts in the Lapinlahti facility are all committed to delivering only the best quality,” says Product Developer Christina Maksimow.

Ensuring the highest microbiological quality for the most vulnerable consumers

To protect the most precious consumers, foods created for infants and children have very high quality and safety standards. This is why, for so long, wet blending was considered the only option for IMF production.

In wet blending, the ingredients are mixed wet and then the blend is heated and dried, which destroys most microbes. Because of the lack of heat treatment in dry blending, the quality standards are more stringent.

This means that the ingredients used in dry blending IMF must meet the high-quality requirements, which can only be ensured by implementing the strictest limits for microbiological pureness.

“There was a clear need for ultrapure milk powder for IMF production, as dry blending has become more and more common among IMF manufacturers in the past ten years,” says Customer Development Manager Judith Wang.

Image. Valio Lapinlahti plant is located in the heartland of Finnish dairy farming. The average distance that milk has to travel from farm to plant is just 67 kilometres (41 miles). Short distances help preserve not only the environment but also the taste and microbiological quality of the milk.

Streamlining IMF production with high-quality dry blending milk powder

Valio Prime SMP is a premium quality product that is designed specifically with dry blending IMF production in mind. As wet blending facilities are such a big investment, many new companies are focusing only on dry blending.

Dry blending also makes it possible to create smaller test batches more efficiently, a feature that is valued by even the most established companies as they look for ways to streamline their IMF production.

“This is why Valio Prime SMP is such a welcome addition to the product portfolio: offering uncompromising microbiological quality while still enabling a more streamlined IMF production process,” says Business Manager Laura Enbom, and continues: “With Valio Prime SMP our customers can start with the purest skimmed milk powder and add exactly the kind of mix that they want to have in their product.”