Fonterra will boost production of organic milk

The farmer-owned New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra announced this month it will expand its organic milk business to help meet growing demand. Fonterra’s Global Business Manager for Organics Craig Deadman said the co-op “is committed to developing its organic milk supply over the long term to meet escalating demand.”

Land O'Lakes donates $350k to Feeding America

The Land O'Lakes Dairy Foods team and the Land O'Lakes Foundation are participating in The Pin A Meal, Give A Meal campaign in partnership with Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization. For every Land O'Lakes recipe (or other recipe of the users' choosing) pinned on Pinterest, the Land O'Lakes Foundation will donate $1 for a guaranteed maximum of $350,000 to Feeding America. 

Davisco boots  Alpha-lactalbumin production ten-fold at idaho cheese plant

Davisco said it has increased by tenfold the production capacity of Alpha-lactalbumin at its cheese facility in Jerome, Idaho. Davisco's unique product is isolated to over 90% Alpha-lactalbumin. The company cited a worldwide demand of the ingredient, which is used in nutritional beverages and infant formulas. Davisco is a unit of Agropur Inc.

2 new websites for UDEC members and the public

The U.S. Dairy Export Council has a new website, where members and other dairy industry professionals can find interactive market data, more accessible research and the new U.S. Dairy Exporter Blog. The Council also created a customer-oriented website, ThinkUSAdairy.org. The intended audience includes global buyers, foodservice professionals, and food and beverage manufacturers.

Danone names Davis, De Petrini to executive committee

Danone appointed Lorna Davis and Pascal De Petrini to two newly created roles in order to shape the “Danone 2020” initiative. Davis will join the executive committee on June 1. Her mandate will be to lead Danone 2020, a business transformation program designed for a sustainable, collaborative and community-engaging future.

De Petrini will join the executive committee on June 15 as executive vice president of strategic resource cycles. His mandate will be to strengthen Danone’s ability to get the best and most appropriate value from its essential resources (milk, water and plastics).

Lorna Davis began her career at Unilever, then held various senior business development positions. She joined Danone in 1997 as managing director of Griffins Foods in New Zealand before becoming regional vice president of biscuits for the United Kingdom and Ireland (Jacobs Bakery and Irish Biscuits). In 2003, Lorna Davis was appointed vice president for Danone’s global topline acceleration "Growth Too" project.

She was later appointed president for Danone Biscuits in China, and subsequent to the sale of Danone’s biscuits division to Kraft Foods (now Mondelez) in 2007, she became president of Kraft China. She is joining Danone from Mondelez, where her latest assignment was president North America for biscuits (Nabisco). Davis serves on the board of directors of AB Electrolux.

Pascal De Petrini started his career in 1984 as an industrial engineer at Danone Dairy France. In 1995, he was appointed supply chain director of LU France and then, in 1998, general manager of the biscuit activity in China. In 2002, he was appointed general manager of ERP THEMIS and, in 2004, general manager of Aqua Indonesia and subsequently regional vice president waters Asia-Pacific. In 2008, De Petrini was appointed regional vice president early life nutrition Asia Pacific in addition to his waters responsibilities. He joined Fraser & Neave in 2011 as CEO food & beverage, prior to becoming Fonterra’s managing director Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa in 2013.