Irish dairy cooperative Ornua said it completed the acquisition of U.S. cheese ingredients business Whitehall Specialties Inc., Whitehall, Wis., for an undisclosed sum from Mason Wells, a private equity firm based in Milwaukee. The acquisition complements Ornua’s U.S. Ingredients division — Hilbert, Wis.-based Ornua Ingredients North America (OINA).

OINA is a provider of customized functional cheese solutions for U.S. food manufacturing and foodservice customers. The acquisition significantly increases OINA’s current position in the U.S. cheese ingredients market, expanding its production footprint to six well-invested facilities across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, Ornua said. The transaction is central to Ornua’s long-term sustainable growth strategy, unlocking significant advanced capacity and flexibility to support its existing and new customers’ ambitious growth plans.

Savencia Fromage & Dairy announced the acquisition of Louisville, Colo.-based Hope Foods, a maker of hummus and other plant-based dips. The acquisition includes the Hope Foods plant in Louisville, where its hummus and nut dips are manufactured.

"Our core business remains cheese and dairy products, but we want to develop new offers in the plant-based category with taste differentiation and premium brands,” said Jean-Paul Torris, CEO of Viroflay, France-headquartered Savencia Fromage & Dairy. “Hope is a strategic fit for us to drive growth in premium natural food products. Hope enlarges our brand's portfolio in the USA into fast-growing 'better-for-you' products and provides an excellent opportunity to expand consumer options for great-tasting plant-based products."

Warren, Mich.-based food distributor Lipari Foods announced that John Pawlowski was named president and chief operating officer. He will focus on advancing overall sales growth and profitability and will report directly to CEO Thom Lipari.   

Pawlowski comes to Lipari Foods with a wealth of experience from his previous employer, TriMark SS Kemp based in Cleveland. Prior to SS Kemp, he spent more than 17 years with The JM Smucker Co., serving in various vice president roles within the organization. 

Thom Lipari also announced that Joe Bennett was named vice president of warehousing. In this new role, Bennett will oversee the strategic and day-to-day operations of the inbound, outbound and inventory control functions. Bennett comes to Lipari Foods with an extensive supply chain and logistics background that began during his time with the United States Navy.

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), Tracy, Calif., said it launched a public information campaign aimed at increasing awareness of the recyclability of milk jugs made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or #2 plastic. The “Recycle the Jug” campaign is designed to drive sustainable behavior change across the state by addressing misconceptions to ensure plastic milk jugs make it into the recycling stream.

A 2021 perceptions study conducted by a dairy industry coalition revealed that while 70% of Californian consumers said recyclability is important to them, nearly half (47%) found the milk jug difficult to recycle, and 32% of those consumers reported they didn’t trust it will actually be recycled.

“California consumers are dedicated to doing their part to recycle, but many don’t understand that the HDPE used for plastic milk jugs is one of the most widely accepted plastics in recycling programs across the United States. It’s highly desirable by recyclers because of its value and ability to be turned into new materials,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. “We want to encourage consumers who buy milk in the jug to make sure that jug makes it to the recycling bin to help keep plastic out of landfills.”

Working closely with the dairy, retail and recycling industries, the Recycle the Jug campaign encourages consumers to take three simple steps to recycle their plastic milk jugs: “Pour it. Cap it. Bin it.” The new recyclethejug.com site, launched in collaboration with the Washington, D.C.-based Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), provides complete information on milk jug and other recycling. And a new recycling icon with the website address will soon appear on milk jugs at retail stores across California as a reminder to consumers to recycle the jug in their local curbside recycling program, the CMAB said.

“Dairy processors are constantly exploring ways to provide milk in the most convenient, sustainable packaging — using more recycled HDPE is one example. More recycled content means lower costs for packaging manufacturers and that’s what this campaign encourages,” said Yin Woon Rani, CEO of MilkPEP. “The more consumers put their milk jugs into the recycling bin, the more responsibly made packaging we can make, and that’s something consumers can feel good about.”

The dairy checkoff awarded 12 academic scholarships to students enrolled in programs that emphasize dairy and who have shown potential to become future dairy leaders.

The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB), through Rosemont, Ill.-based Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff, annually awards $2,500 scholarships to 11 students. In addition, the NDB awards a $3,500 James H. Loper Jr. Memorial Scholarship to one outstanding scholarship recipient, DMI said.

Eligible majors include journalism, communications/public relations, marketing, business, economics, nutrition, food science or agriculture education. Scholarship criteria include academic achievement, a career interest in a dairy-related discipline and demonstrated leadership, initiative and integrity, DMI noted.

Ashley Hagenow, a University of Minnesota student who is majoring in agricultural communications and marketing, earned the 2021-22 Loper scholarship, DMI said. Students earning $2,500 scholarships include Amelia Hayden (University of Minnesota – Twin Cities), Meghan Hettinga (South Dakota State University), Theodore Jacoby (South Dakota State University), Lance Lynn (Texas A&M University), Bobby Marchy (Oklahoma State University), Brianna McBride (Iowa State University), Margaret Molitor (South Dakota State University), Kaitlin Mirkin (University of Idaho), Jessica Schmitt (Iowa State University), Mackenzie Ullmer (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay) and Kendra Waldenberger (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities).

Rieke, part of the TriMas Packaging group, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. Rieke develops and manufactures specialty dispensing and closure products for applications in the beauty and personal care, food and beverage, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical, industrial and home-care end markets.

Tate & Lyle PLC, a London-based provider of food and beverage solutions and ingredients, announced the appointment of William ‘Bill’ Magee as president, North America, Food & Beverage Solutions, and as a member of Tate & Lyle’s Executive Committee.

Magee joined Tate & Lyle in April 2018 as commercial vice president, North America, Food & Beverage Solutions, the company said, before being promoted to senior vice president and general manager, North America, Food & Beverage Solutions later that year. In these positions, he was instrumental in leading the company’s growth transformation in the region over the last three years. Prior to joining Tate & Lyle, he held senior leadership roles with Rohm & Haas, H.B Fuller and Michelman.

Tetra Pak, Lausanne, Switzerland, and Canadian company Poka announced the launch of a new strategic collaboration that brings together the expertise, technology and best practices of Tetra Pak, a specialist in the food & beverage packaging industry, with the power of Poka, which offers a connected factory worker platform. This collaboration will empower workers in food production with the tools and training needed to accelerate zero-waste processes in food manufacturing plants. It’s the first global and scalable connected workforce service that Tetra Pak will rollout as part of its new training and support solution, the companies said.

Outlook Group, a printed packaging converter based in Neenah, Wis., said it is now a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC). The SPC is a leading voice on sustainable packaging with membership that represents the entire packaging value chain, including global brands, material producers, material converters, retailers, NGOs and waste management providers.