11 Jan Tech transfer results in plant to produce cholesterol-reducing dairy ingredient
Racine, Wis. – The Center for Advanced Technology & Innovation has announced that Alliance Enterprises of Southeastern Wisconsin has begun construction of a production plant for the research and development of Benelact, a new dairy ingredient that extracts cholesterol from milk.
The project represents an estimated $1.5 million investment.
The pilot plant will be headquartered at the CATI Center, a business incubator and education facility. The plant will be used for research and development and for the initial production of Benelact, according to Brandon Malacara, dairy marketing director for Alliance Enterprises.
In May 2006, CATI licensed Benelact to Alliance Enterprises. The all-natural process extracts cholesterol from milk to create a healthy milk ingredient without altering the taste, texture, or properties of the milk. The Benelact process removes up to 80 percent of cholesterol and saturated fat from milk, resulting in a healthier product that can function as milk in a variety of food products.
Matt Wagner, executive director of CATI, said the technology originally was developed by Kraft Foods and donated to CATI. He characterized Alliance’s interest in the product as an example of bringing a commercially viable product to market and contributing to the economic growth of the region by “leveraging under-utilized intellectual property from private industry.”
CATI was founded in 2001 to execute a technology transfer model that leverages underused, off-strategy, or platform intellectual property from industry. The center manages a $35 million patent portfolio from partnerships with global firms such as S.C. Johnson, Kraft, and Boeing.
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