"These awards are a great way for exhibitors to bring their products and services to the attention of the dairy industry," said Robin Cornelison, IDFA trade show director. "All participating companies, especially the winners, will gain added recognition from peers and potential customers for their innovative products and services."

Show attendees, Dairy Foods readers and other dairy industry professionals will be able to cast their votes for their favorite innovation either online or at the International Dairy Show.

An award will be presented in each of the five categories: 

1. Food Safety
2. Ingredients/Flavorings/Seasonings/Additives 
3. Packaging,
4. Processing 
5. Sustainability

In addition, show attendees also will vote for the Attendee/Reader Choice Award. Voting will end at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and the winners will be announced at the close of the show on Wednesday, Nov. 6. 

The finalists in each category are listed below. 

Innovations in food safety for dairy processing

• Harvill Industries’ Bactiscan is a user-friendly, robust and portable lamp that can detect bio film residues, mold, salmonella, yeast, E. coli and other bacteria and contaminants

• Atlantium Technologies’ innovative UV technology makes pasteurized-equivalent water and meets the latest Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) criteria for cow water reuse, enabling serious energy and water savings. 

• ExtenData’s MobileConductor is a comprehensive mobile supply chain software that allows dairies, processors and marketers to track and trace milk from farm to store as it travels across the country, improving safety throughout the entire transport. 

Innovations in ingredients, flavorings, seasonings and additives for dairy foods

• Ingredion Incorporated’s NOVATION Endura 0100 functional native starch has exceptional process tolerance in dairy applications that require extreme processing conditions, as compared to traditional native starches, such as corn, that lack process functionality.

• Saputo Cheese USA’s Treasure Cave Crumbled Blue Cheese Flavors bring home the newest menu trends by introducing four new bold flavors of crumbled blue cheese: Buffalo Wing, Southeast Smoked, Chipotle Pepper, and Southwest Chipotle & Black Bean. 

• M & B Products, Inc.’s Buffy's Cool Cow White Chocolate Milk is made with skim milk, all natural Stevia extract for sweetness and all natural cocoa extract for flavor. 

Innovations in packaging for dairy products

• Curwood, Inc.’s new EZ Open Block-Tite Bulk Cheese Package significantly improves handling convenience while still meeting the barrier and load challenges of 40-pound block cheeses. 

• Curwood’s popular EZ Peel Reseal technology provides makers of chunk, sliced or snack cheeses with peel/reseal convenience in 100-percent flexible packaging with films as low as three-millimeters thick. 

• Polytainers "Wave" series is the company’s new in-mold-labeling container-packaging family, developed for customers looking for value-added packaging to differentiate their products on the ever-competitive retail shelf. 

Innovations in dairy processing

•  AfiMilk’s MCS is a breakthrough solution for enhancing milk value and significantly improving dairy production and yields. It classifies milk during milking according to its constituents and characteristics, such as fat, protein and coagulation properties, and its suitability for the desired dairy products. 

• Junction Solutions’ Blend Optimizer automates batching, blending and mixing operations and determines the best combination of ingredients for most effective utilization of material resources. 

• Sargento’s Ultra Thin Sliced Natural Cheeses have 45 calories or fewer per slice, but are cut from the same great quality cheese as Sargento’s sliced natural cheese. The Ultra Thin slices contain half the calories of traditionally sliced cheeses. 

Innovations in dairy sustainability

• Junction Solutions’ mAX Sales provides companies with remote access to real-time and accurate information regarding order history, inventory and product detail; it also provides the ability to place new orders without being connected to a wireless network.

• The Quest Pro Pick Pack is an intuitive three-in-one robotic cell that produces a box, picks the product and packs it all in one compact cell that is customizable to fit any facility's needs. 

The award winners will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 6, from the International Dairy Show iDairyShow Theater in the South Hall of McCormick Place. To be eligible for an award, the products or services must have been introduced to the market during the past 2 years. Vote online here.