April 1st, 2022, Brussels. Registration for the IDF Dairy Innovation Awards, an International Dairy Federation initiative designed to celebrate and encourage innovative practices across the global dairy sector, which was launched on February 17 in partnership with Zenith Global and supported by headline sponsorship from Tetra Pak, has been officially opened today, April 1st. Entries for the awards will be received until July 1.

With a particular focus on Sustainability, both in terms of environmental care and positive social impact, the awards seek to stimulate innovative practices that improve farming and processing of milk and dairy foods. New technologies such as Robotics, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Alternative Energies applied to Dairy are some of the cutting-edge processes that the organizers expect to find among registered candidates.

The entries can be submitted through the awards website into twelve awards categories: Innovation in sustainable farming practices for the environment, animal care and socio-economic impact, Innovation in sustainable processing, Innovation in research and development for farming, collecting & processing, new product development, food safety consumer nutrition, Innovation in sustainable packaging, Innovation in school milk programs and Innovation in Climate Action.

“Innovation is part of IDF’s DNA from its foundation back in 1903”, explains Piercristiano Brazzale, president of IDF. “Our mission is to foster the use of science, technology and innovation to ensure the production and processing of milk and dairy products in safe, nutritious and sustainable ways”, he adds. “We believe that this award will help innovative practices to be known and shared among relevant dairy actors at a global level”, Mr. Brazzale states.

IDF members are invited to participate in the awards free of charge. Non-members will be charged 150 Euros for registration in a single category and 90 Euros for entries into multiple categories. For further details and to register your interest, please visit the website.

The Jury designated to evaluate candidacies will be integrated by prominent personalities of the world dairy sector.

“We really expect to have entries from all over the world since innovation takes place everywhere at many different levels”, Mr Brazzale affirms. “We wish to identify these innovations to see them being put in practice globally so as to help dairy advance at a similar pace in all regions”, he adds. “This is particularly important for sustainability, one of the pillars of our organization, since we aim to have the best sustainable practices as a gold standard for dairy all around the world”, he concludes.

The awards winners will be announced on 12 September 2022 in a ceremony at the IDF World Dairy Summit in New Delhi, India. This Summit is considered the most important meeting of the year for the global dairy community. As this edition will be held after a two-year recess due to the pandemic, the 2022 summit is expected to be attended by participants from all over the world. The IDF Dairy Innovation Awards will provide the winners an unparalleled opportunity to be internationally acknowledged and have their innovations promoted among the most influencing actors of the Dairy’s global agenda.