Internship R&D Microbiology - Videbæk

Arla Foods Ingredients is an independent company within the Arla Foods Group and a global leader in milk based protein ingredients. One of the cornerstones in our business is our dedicated scientists that develop our new ingredients.

We are seeking a number of interns to work at the Arla Foods Ingredients Innovation Centre in Nr. Vi-um. Our R&D department consists of 60 competent and dedicated employees (scientists, technicians and administrative employees). You will work together with our Scientist within the R&D Develop department. Our scientists have extensive experience in protein science, fractionation, process technology, application of enzymes and project management. Through your internship, you will be supervised by one of our Scientists and support their daily work by conduct and description of experiments.

About the internship

Whey, the liquid residue of cheese and casein production, is increasingly recognized as a very nutritious food source because of its high-value proteins and fats. Whey comprises 80-90% of the total volume of milk and contains soluble proteins, lactose, vitamins and minerals. Whey ingredients are used for early life nutrition, medical applications, baking, dairy, and sports nutrition. Many of these applications require a high microbial quality and food safety.

Many predictive models are available for dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and milk. This is not the case for whey, possibly because the production of whey ingredients for human consumption is relatively new, and because the whey applications are company-specific and the production processes often IP-protected. Most knowledge available is on pathogenic bacteria, not on spoilage bacteria. AFI has a microbiology lab available in Nr. Vium, in which practical work with spoilage organisms can be done. A bacteria library with in-house flora is available in the lab freezer.

The goal of this internship is to generate data on the growth of spoilage bacteria in several whey matrices at refrigeration conditions. Spoilage bacteria of concern could include Pseudomonas spp. and Enterobacter cloaceae, but can also be additional bacteria. Whey matrices in scope could be Whey Protein Isolate, thin whey, MFGM and demineralized lactose and can be compared to culture medium. The experimental data will be generated at by measuring the optical density with a plate reader. In addition, the viable cells will be assessed via plate counting.

The second part of the internship could consists of literature research. In the food industry, product streams are often heat-treated using a plate heat exchanger. Of interest are techniques alternative to the plate heat exchanger (e.g. high pressure, Ohmic heating, etc.). A literature research on the effects of these techniques on the whey spoilage bacteria (in comparison to the plate heat exchanger) will help to understand the efficacy of such techniques for whey processing.

The project will run for 5 months. The internship consists of practical research and literature research. It will be finalized with an excel document with the experimental results, a report for the university and a presentation for the university and AFI.

Who are you?

You are a Msc student in Food Safety / Food Microbiology or similar ready to initiate an internship in the autumn of 2023.

Application and contact

For additional information, please call R&D Senior Scientist, Ellen Wemmenhove on +45 8746 6623.

We have a purpose for Good
At Arla, we strive to unlock the highest potential in each other while working together to create a sustainable future of dairy. We call it Stronger People Stronger Planet and it is deeply anchored in our organisation and founded on our commitment to respecting human rights, increasing access to healthy dairy nutrition, inspiring good food habits, and improving the environment for future generations. In order to succeed we need to hire people with a sustainable mindset. Could this be you?

BEWARE! RECRUITMENT FRAUD
It has come to our attention that there are a number of fraudulent emails and fake recruitment campaigns on the internet from people purporting to work for Arla Foods. Learn more via this link.

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