The Dawn of Health in Ireland

As the trend for healthy products continues to escalate worldwide due to consumers wanting longer and more sustained active lifestyles, we can expect that more and more food manufacturers will ride this wave of awareness and produce innovative products that promote prolonged lives. In Ireland though, innovative new dairy products don’t come often. So when Dawn Dairies took the step by coming out with the country’s first Omega-3 enriched milk, many took notice, especially the members of the Irish Heart Foundation.

As the trend for healthy products continues to escalate worldwide due to consumers wanting longer and more sustained active lifestyles, we can expect that more and more food manufacturers will ride this wave of awareness and produce innovative products that promote prolonged lives. In Ireland though, innovative new dairy products don’t come often. So when Dawn Dairies took the step by coming out with the country’s first Omega-3 enriched milk, many took notice, especially the members of the Irish Heart Foundation. This is because Dawn’s “Omega Milk” promotes a healthier heart and helps reduce high blood pressure. Omega-3 oil is an ingredient naturally found in fish such as mackerel and sardines. With fish consumption steadily in decline, the Irish Heart Foundation feared that this could prove to be detrimental to many lives in the future. With the recent launch of Omega Milk, the Foundation plans to promote the consumption of Omega milk in 1L Tetra Rex cartons to increase heart health awareness. Michael O’Shea, CEO of the Irish Heart Foundation made this comment:”Omega-3 fatty acids are an essential part of a healthy heart diet and should be included regularly in a diet low in saturated fat and rich in fruit and vegetables." To combine the omega-3 oils with milk, Tetra Pak Ireland used the Tetra Pak FlexDos an advanced aseptic dosing system used before filling, but after product heat treatment. FlexDos allows you to add heat sensitive additives and functional ingredients to your product in a safe and cost efficient manner, with no need for additional processing equipment. The system instead uses 5 or 10 litre bags for these liquid additives, which is then connected to a hose that incorporates a proprietary pump and sterile needle that injects the additive thru the dosing chamber into the flow. Dawn’s Omega Milk is sold as a premium product at €1.19 euro for a 1 litre Tetra Rex carton, and has a shelf life of 11 days. Comparatively, their fresh milk variety is sold at €0.90. This product also contains vitamins A, D and E and folic acid. Dawn Dairies carries other dairy products – fresh milk, calcium enriched and skimmed.