The European Union's vision for green and sustainable milk standards.
The European Union (EU) currently maintains its position as the world's largest milk producer, with raw milk production reaching 160 million tonnes in 2023. To preserve this position, the EU has established the world's most stringent quality control system for food safety, animal welfare, and environmental protection, ensuring the most consistent nutritional quality of its output. These standards require member states to continuously improve their livestock farming practices while protecting biodiversity and land resources.
Against this backdrop, an international cooperation campaign titled "European Dairy Products – Ireland, where nature meets science" was launched with a total co-funded investment of €3.2 million from the EU over three years, managed by the Irish Food Commission (Bord Bia). This campaign focuses on promoting high-quality dairy ingredient solutions, from whole milk powder to specialized protein products, in three key Asian markets: China, Singapore , and Vietnam. Through trade promotion and technical exchange, the EU aims to strengthen the green nutrition supply chain and meet the growing needs of food producers in the region.
Ireland: Where family heritage combines with clinical nutritional science .
In Ireland, dairy cows are left to graze outdoors for an average of 240 days a year on temperate pastures, which are lush and fertile thanks to Ireland's abundant rainfall. Photo: Bao Nguyen