Our overarching mission at Dairy UK is to promote the consumption of great tasting UK dairy products at home and on the international market.
Our members collect and process milk produced in the UK, providing employment and contributing to the UK economy.
Dairy UK relies on strong partnerships with farmers and stakeholders along the supply chain to promote the goodness of dairy.
We also work with MPs and with the government to promote a better understanding of the dairy sector and its products.
Our Work
Our key areas of focus are:
- Promoting the nutrition and health benefits of dairy. Dairy foods are part of dietary guidelines worldwide. They are recognised for the contribution they make to the nutrition of all age groups. We work hard to ensure that the benefits of real dairy are recognised, using science-based information.
- Showcasing the commitment of our sector to sustainability and by sustainability we mean the environment, the economy and society. Dairy UK plays an active role in helping its members to achieve their commitment to continuous sustainable improvement.
- Ensuring that Brexit works for the UK dairy sector and that the voice of dairy is heard in future trade agreements.
Underpinning all of these focus areas is our considerable expertise in food safety and quality. We work alongside our members and with organisations such as the Food Standards Agency and National Milk Laboratories to ensure that the dairy foods produced by our members meet the highest standards.
The work of Dairy UK doesn’t stop there, we touch on many areas including:
- Assurance: our Dairy Transport Assurance Scheme guarantees that milk collection meets safety requirements, best practice and the needs of the customer. More than 90% of milk haulage capacity in this country is Dairy Transport Assurance Scheme certified, across a fleet of 1,300 vehicles and 2,000 drivers;
- Ensuring an approved milk supply: The Assured Integrated Milk Supplier (AIMS) Scheme has been established to create a status of Assured Supplier for the participating dairies (Scheme Members) so, when trading milk between the members, the receiving dairy can be confident that the milk will meet the standards expected and so assure provenance. The scheme is for untreated bovine milk direct from farm supplied to the sector as traded, swapped or integrated haulage between the members of the scheme. All members sign up to a Code of Practice (COP), which has four sections: Milk Quality, Traceability, Farm Assurance and Sustainability, and are audited annually against the COP.
- Employee Safety: our Occupational Health and Safety Committee works with our member companies to promote best practice in employee safety in the processing environment;
- Asset Recovery: our Asset Protection Team return around 40,000 metal milk trolleys to their owners each year, worth an eye-watering £2.1 million.
Dairy UK Team
Dr Judith Bryans
Chief Executive
jbryans@dairyuk.org
Peter Dawson
Policy & Sustainability Director
pdawson@dairyuk.org
Colin Buck
Company Secretary and Accountant
cbuck@dairyuk.org
Sophie Clarke
Communications Manager
sclarke@dairyuk.org
Luisa Candido
Nutrition & Technical Manager
lcandido@dairyuk.org
Erica Hocking
Senior Nutrition Scientist
ehocking@dairyuk.org
Lydia Cooper
Nutrition Scientist
lcooper@dairyuk.org
Dr Emma Gregson
Environment Manager
egregson@dairyuk.org
Gary Cosby
Social Media and Digital Specialist
gcosby@dairyUK.org
Ian Wakeling
Information Manager
iwakeling@dairyuk.org
Aurelia Borenius
Office Manager
aborenius@dairyuk.org
John Hey
UK Asset Protection Manager
jhey@dairyuk.org
Peter Dick
Regional Asset Protection Manager (South)
pdick@dairyuk.org
Ian Thompson
Regional Asset Protection Manager (Midlands)
ithompson@dairyuk.org
Andy Walsh
Regional Asset Protection Manager (North)
awalsh@dairyuk.org
Dairy UK Board
Office holding Board Members
Paul Vernon
Chairman
Leprino Foods Limited
Mike Chatters
Vice-Chair
Lactalis McLelland
Nick Whelan
Vice-Chair
Dale Farm Co-operative Ltd.
Tom Atherton
Treasurer
Saputo Dairy UK
Board Members
Tim Dale
Dairy UK Farmers’ Forum
Shelagh Hancock
First Milk
Robert Graham Jnr
Graham’s the Family Dairy
Colin Kelly
Lakeland Foods
Neil Kennedy
Crediton
Lyndon Edwards
Vice-Chair
Dairy UK Farmers’ Forum
Alan Wyn Jones
South Caernarfon Creameries
Bas Padberg
Arla Foods UK