The Dairy Plant is a unit facility under the Department of Food Science and Nutrition. It was designed and equipped for small-scale manufacturing of dairy products such as fluid milk (pasteurized fresh milk, chocolate milk drink, and flavoured milk), ice cream, cheese (fresh white cheese and Gouda-type varieties), and fermented milk (laban). It maintains several major pieces of equipment that include a junior milk pasteurizer, homogenizer, milk carton filling machine, ice cream freezer, cheese vat, pneumatic cheese press, holding tanks, fermentation tank, laboratory spray drier, milk evaporator, cream separator, cold storage rooms for finished products, and a CIP (clean-in-place) unit.
The Dairy Plant is responsible for receiving and processing the raw milk produced from the dairy herd of the Agricultural Experiment Station. It also serves as an integral component of the food science program by providing technical support and assistance to the training and research needs of the faculty staff and students. Practical training sessions are being conducted here to allow the students to gain knowledge and experience in the various unit operations involved in the actual commercial processing of milk and other milk products, development and formulations of new products, implementation of proper food safety and hygiene, good manufacturing practices, and plant sanitation.
The Dairy Plant through its operational activities, continually generates income from the sale of its processed milk and milk products that are marketed in the various Students Consumer Establishment outlets within the University complex.
Sami Suleiman Al-Kharusi
Dairy Plant Manager