Our home of milk goodness
Our Fonterra Research and Development Centre (FRDC) in Palmerston North employs many of the world’s leading experts in unlocking the goodness of milk.
It’s one of the largest dairy research facilities in the world, and is home to more than 300 researchers, engineers and scientists from 46 countries. Collectively there are more than 130 PhDs and more than 3500 combined years of experience in dairy science, research and development.
Things you should know about the Fonterra Research and Development Centre:
- Lays claims to many world ‘firsts’
- Spreadable butter
- Milk protein concentrates used in aging, sports, and medical nutrition products
- Fastest reconstituting instant whole milk powder
- Extended whole milk powder shelf life to 24 months
- Developed functional uses for casein powder
- Holds 350 milk related patents.
- Is researching complex lipids in milk that may help brain development and function.
- Is home to 300 strains of probiotics and 10,000 cheese starter cultures
- Invented mozzarella that matures in just a few hours rather than the four months it used to take.
The Fonterra Research and Development Centre started on the Massey University site as the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute in 1927, but moved to its own site a few years later and was renamed when Fonterra was formed in 2001.
Dairy Nutrition
Read more about what we're doing with dairy's natural goodness to make delicious, nutritious food.