Raise a Glass...of Milk to Essential Dairy Workers!

Who Are the Essential Workers in the Dairy Ingredient Supply Chain?

All over social media, “#Essential” has been popping up to reference and highlight the many essential workers throughout the country who continue to do their work under today’s challenging conditions. Food industry workers make up a significant share of these essential workers. The farming, processing, warehousing, transporting, and retailing of food have all been deemed essential functions by the government, and rightly so, considering how vital an uninterrupted food supply is at this time.

Here we explore what essential workers in the dairy ingredient supply chain do on a day-to-day basis and how important it is that they’re able to meet the heightened demand for retail food products. Through the implementation of social distancing and other safety measures, these workers are faithfully working through the COVID-19 crisis to provide needed nutrition to people across the country.

Dairy Farmers

It all begins on the farm. Dairy farmers are responsible for feeding and caring for their cows every day of the week. They must also maintain, clean, and sanitize the milking equipment and holding tanks, milk the cows, and prepare the milk for pickup. 

Truck Drivers

Truck drivers make up the next link in the chain and are essential throughout the supply chain wherever milk or milk products are moved from one place to the next. They work tirelessly to get dairy products wherever they need to go on time and in good condition to ensure food safety.

Milk Processors

Milk processors collect the milk from surrounding regional dairy farms. After the milk is tested for quality, it’s received into the facility. Then, the milk is standardized (via separation and blending) and pasteurized for safety. From there, it’s ready to be packaged and sold as milk or further processed into a variety of dairy ingredients. Production workers, quality control technicians, warehouse workers, buyers, and customer service representatives are some of the key roles at a milk processing facility.

Ingredient Manufacturers

Some of the milk that comes from milk processors goes toward producing dairy ingredients that can be used by food manufacturers. This includes whey and casein proteins (as isolates or concentrates), protein hydrolysates, bioactive proteins, dry milk powders, cheese powders, and many more. Glanbia Nutritionals is here in the middle of the chain! These dairy ingredients can be incorporated into a wide variety of retail food products and beverages. Employees at ingredient and food manufacturers have many of the same roles as those found in milk processing facilities.

Food Manufacturers

Food manufacturers are next in the chain. Some food manufacturers receive fresh milk for use in producing dairy products, such as yogurt, cheese, butter, or ice cream. Other manufacturers rely on dairy ingredients—for example, whey protein to use in protein bars, dry beverage mixes, or infant formulas, or cheese powder for use in cheese-flavored chips and crackers or boxed macaroni and cheese.

Distribution Centers

Often food will travel from the food manufacturer to a distribution center before reaching the food retailer. These large warehousing facilities rely on customer service representatives to receive the orders and warehouse workers to select and prepare the orders for shipping. Distribution centers are bustling places with trucks coming and going throughout the day.

Food Retailers

Finally, our food arrives at the food retailers, which include supermarkets, natural foods stores, club stores, convenience stores, and dollar stores. Receivers, stockers, cashiers, as well as prepared foods workers in the deli, meat, and bakery departments, are all critical to the efficient operation of our grocery stores. This is where American consumers go to stock up on the foods and beverages they need, whether a gallon of milk or a box of protein bars, to keep them nourished and healthy.

Thank You, #Essential Workers!

We can all take a moment to appreciate the essential workers who are making our lives better by providing reliable service and quality products. Here at Glanbia, we wish to celebrate our team members who are coming to work each day, committed to being there for our customers. For all your dairy ingredient needs, contact Glanbia Nutritionals!