Optimizing Processing Efficiencies with Dairy Bulk Packaging

Bulk product handling in any industry sets forth efficiency challenges across the value chain for contract packagers, ingredient manufacturers, and end-use processors. Intermediate bulk packaging for the dairy industry, however, is among the most challenging for its concerns surrounding freshness, protection from moisture, consistency, and viscous product residual during filling and dispensing.

Dairy bulk packaging solutions are designed to suit a variety of product types and can include dry liners, liquid liners, drum liners, and bulk storage containers. But how do these solutions work to accommodate the considerations and challenges of dairy products? In this blog, we explore how these dairy bulk packaging solutions optimize the filling and dispensing process to ensure yield and product purity.

Types of Dairy Products That Utilize Intermediate Bulk Packaging

• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Cottage Cheese
• Ice Cream and Novelties
• Liquid Eggs
• Fluid Milk and Dairy Alternatives
• Milk and Whey Powder

Depending on the type of dairy products you are packaging, you may require a dry bulk packaging solution or a liquid bulk packaging solution. Choosing the right solution depends on your specific application, product viscosity, and processing method.

Dairy products such as milk powder and whey powder will require dry bulk packaging solutions, including FIBCs paired with form-fit liners or drums utilizing drum liners, while dairy products like yogurt and cream will require liquid bulk packaging solutions, including collapsible IBCs paired with a pillow liner or liquid form-fit liner.

Form-fit liners are custom designed to fit the dimensions of an FIBC, providing maximum filling and dispensing efficiency through complete discharging of the product. Unlike a basic “tube liner,” form-fit liners offer a flat top and bottom and incorporate a spout diameter and length to best compliment the FIBC’s fill and discharge spouts. Drum liners are designed for use with steel, plastic, or fiber drums, and ensure dry dairy products, such as whey powder, stay pure and contamination-free.  Drum liners from ILC Dover are manufactured with engineered polyethylene film structures for durability and consistency.

Liquid pillow liners are an economical packaging choice for liquid dairy products in IBCs. The pillow style IBC liner protects products, such as liquid eggs, from contamination and leakage during processing, storage, and transportation. Form-fit liners are designed to reduce labor while minimizing waste and product residual during filling and dispensing bulk liquids. The form-fit design allows for a consistently complete fill and dispense of products because the liner has no pleats, folds, or other traps to hinder material flow.  Liquid pillow liners and  form-fit liners from ILC Dover are manufactured in our FSSC22000, Kosher and IMS certified facility.

The viscous nature of dairy products makes it difficult and labor intensive to fully optimize filling and dispensing operations. Millions of dollars are lost annually in industries, including dairy, due to scrapped product that cannot be extracted from disposable form-fit liners.

Fortunately for dairy manufacturers, ILC Dover’s award-winning  Xtrakt® liquid bulk dispensing system has revolutionized the dispensing of viscous liquids from bulk packaging in IBCs. The Xtrakt® liquid bulk dispensing system helps dairy manufacturers reduce product waste in bulk dispensing of liquid dairy products such as:

• Creams
• Syrups
• Flavor bases for ice creams

Xtrakt consistently leaves less than 2 kg of product residual in the bulk liner, while air-assist liners leave as much as 10 kg-40 kg of product behind. Other benefits of the Xtrakt® system for dairy include:

• Works with existing pumps
• Requires minimal operator intervention
• Features a stronger, dual-wall liner
• Offers all-in-one deployment
• Delivers more product to drive savings
• Stops automatically
• Keeps workers safe from start to finish

If you are a contract packager, manufacturer, or end-use processor who is assessing your filling and dispensing operations for dairy products, consider the dry and liquid solutions discussed here as well as the award-winning  Xtrakt® liquid bulk dispensing system. Keeping your dairy products fresh, pure, contamination-free, and compliant during filling and dispensing operations is critical to the value chain and their end-use consumers. ILC Dover’s dairy bulk packaging solutions, including  dry form-fit liners and  drum liners,  liquid pillow liners, and  form-fit liners, plus accessories like heating pads, fill bridges, adapters, and valves, are here for you. Learn more about our  dairy bulk packaging solutions and  contact us.