Dairy scientist wins international award

18 November 2008

Professor Ylva Ardö, Faculty of Life Sciences, has been granted the prestigious 2008 IDF Award for her significant contribution to dairy research worldwide. Professor Ardö is the first woman and the first researcher from Scandinavia to receive the award.

The award was presented during the IDF Open Forum on Present and Future Work, at the International Dairy Federation (IDF) World Dairy Summit in Mexico.

Professor Ylva Ardö has developed a new technique to preserve milk samples using bronopol, which is not detrimental to health, for analysis of milk for payment and breeding. The technique is useful for spectroscopic as well as laboratory reference methods analyzing e.g. fat, protein, lactose and cell content and is today used by most routine analysis laboratories for milk samples in Europe, North America and Australia.

She is an initiator of a concept for a new variety of highly appreciated low-fat semi-hard cheese (10% fat) that is produced by dairy companies since more than 15 years. The first developed cheese variety has won several prices. The concept has later been applied by the large international culture producing companies.

Professor Ylva Ardö is a pioneer for using Lactobacillus helveticus as ripening culture in cheese made with mesophilic starter and has also contributed to characterization of the non-starter microflora and its synergy with starter in ripening of European cheese.

Moreover, Professor Ylva Ardö has played a leading role in the development of analysis methods for characterization for cheese ripening in international cooperation.

Within the international education in dairy technology field, Professor Ylva Ardö has been the initiator and driving force behind internationalization of the worldwide renowned Danish dairy education MSc programme at Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen. The programme is characterised by a high academic level at as well as close relations to production.

Professor Ardö has been a professor of dairy technology at Faculty of Life Sciences since 2003. Earlier this year, she was given the Swiss Cheese Award for “Best Cheese Scientist Worldwide” in Bern, Switzerland.