Turning Dairy Waste into Value: The LACTOMAX Project Begins

At Wageningen Food & Biobased Research in The Netherlands, The Lactomax Project has officially kicked off, launching a collaborative initiative focused on the valorization of dairy side streams for the dairy industry in Lebanon. Bringing together a consortium of public and private stakeholders—from both Lebanon and the Netherlands—the project combines cutting-edge research with industrial expertise to unlock new value from underutilized resources.

Led by Peter Geerdink (WFBR, Project Leader) and Carl Safi (WFBR, Innovation & Partnership Manager), the initiative builds on a shared vision: transforming dairy by-products into high-value, sustainable outputs through applied science and real-world implementation. The project officially began with an online kick-off session on March 6, 2026, gathering all stakeholders, and will run through to its final presentation in December 2026.

At the center of Lactomax is delactosed permeate (DLP), a dairy co-product that is widely available yet largely underutilized due to its high mineral content and processing complexity. Despite these challenges, DLP is rich in lactose, making it a promising substrate for fermentation. The project builds on previous research demonstrating that, with partial demineralization, DLP can be efficiently converted into valuable products, eliminating the need for energy-intensive steps such as spray drying.

Lactomax aims to take this concept further by showcasing and validating advanced fermentation pathways. Key objectives of the project include:

• Demonstrating fermentation of delactosed permeate at practical scale

• Applying WFBR expertise in demineralization and biomass fermentation

• Leveraging consortium partners’ capabilities for oil-producing fermentation

• Replicating and validating the process at consortium partner Skaff Dairy Farm in Lebanon

• Conducting production runs and assessing the quality and performance of the resulting biomass at consortium partners’ industrial facility.

A key area of potential success lies in the application of the resulting biomass in pet food and young animal feed, where it can serve as a high-value, functional ingredient. Apart from its nutritional value, this biomass shows promise in improving feed palatability, supporting animal health, and contributing to better feed conversion, opening new opportunities for sustainable and performance-driven feed solutions.

Beyond technical development, dissemination is a core pillar of the project. Insights and results will be actively shared through multiple channels, including expert content, social media updates led by EFFoST and The Industrial Kingdom, and engagement support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon. Dedicated discussions will also be filmed on The Industrial Kingdom podcast ensuring that knowledge moves beyond the lab into industry practice.

More broadly, Lactomax reflects a growing shift toward circular bioeconomy models, where industrial side streams are no longer seen as waste, but as strategic assets. By reducing waste, improving resource efficiency, and creating new revenue streams, the project contributes to a more sustainable and competitive dairy sector, both in Lebanon and internationally.

As the project progresses toward its 2026 milestones, Lactomax sets a strong precedent for how cross-border collaboration, applied research, and industrial execution can come together to redefine the future of food production systems.