New Technology Could Save 70 Million Tonnes of Milk from Being Wasted

By Peter Lusted

Topic: Food Technology

Sunday, 7 June 2026, at 8:19 am

A new technology uses biosensors to identify how much treatment milk needs to prevent waste.

In short:

A new innovation in Canberra can detect contaminants in dairy products, which could reduce milk waste.

This technology allows dairy companies to test milk on site in just three minutes, instead of waiting two to three days for lab results.

What's next?

The Cybertongue technology may be used to test food for allergens or bacterial toxins in the future.

About one-sixth of the world's milk is wasted, but a new technology could drastically reduce this amount.

The technology allows dairy companies to carry out tests on site in just three minutes, instead of waiting days for lab results.

The founder of PPB Technology, Stephen Trowell, says the technology measures raw milk's sensitivity to an enzyme that can spoil the finished product.

Stephen Trowell said, 'We engineer proteins, called biosensors, that can measure things very accurately.'

'We can measure the quality of raw milk in terms of its protease, an enzyme that can spoil the finished products,' he said.

'Some products are more sensitive to the protease, and their shelf life is more affected by it than others.'

'The most sensitive product is long-life or UHT milk.'

Having greater awareness of protease levels allows dairy companies to use the milk for less sensitive products or give it appropriate treatment to prevent waste.

Identifying milk with high protease levels allows dairy companies to use it for less sensitive products like yoghurt and cheese.

The technology could prevent more than 70 million tonnes of milk from being wasted each year.

The technology is also used to detect explosive vapours and wine aromas.

Stephen Trowell worked at the CSIRO for 30 years and led the Cybernose project, which was used for wine testing and detecting explosives.

The original idea was to couple biological receptors with a machine to help winemakers assess wine parameters.

The demand for the technology was not high, but it was used for explosive detection.

The Cybertongue technology measures trace contaminants and enzyme activities in food and beverages.

Stephen Trowell left the CSIRO to develop the Cybertongue technology, which is being used in the dairy industry.

The technology was developed for early detection of explosive vapours.

The technology can be used for many other applications in food, environmental testing, and medical testing.

Preventing milk waste is a significant issue.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimated world milk production at 979 million tonnes in 2024.

Up to one-sixth of the world's milk is wasted, according to studies by the Dutch dairy and food research institute NIZO.

The Cybertongue technology can significantly reduce milk waste, especially for long-life milk.

Long-life milk is really important globally, making up at least half of all drinking milk.

It is available in many middle-income countries where they do not have a chill chain to the consumer.

It is really important for the nutrition and food security of many people.

UHT milk makes up the majority of the world's drinking milk, but its shelf life differs between countries.

The technology can help locate where problematic enzymes are originating in farms, supply chains, or factories.

The technology helps Australian processors avoid problems with exports and extends the shelf life of milk.

Benefits other than milk

The Cybertongue technology is being used in North America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, Central Asia, and India.

The technology may be expanded to test food for allergens or bacterial toxins in the future.

While the company is focused on dairy quality issues now, they believe the technology could have wider benefits.

The company aims to help with human health catastrophes in the future.

The technology has multi-million-dollar sales opportunities and could have a significant impact.

The company believes it has the opportunity to become a billion-dollar valuation company.

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