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The 2008 IDF Award has been granted to Professor Ylva Ardö from Denmark. It was presented during the International Dairy Federation Open Forum on Present and Future Work at the recent IDF World Dairy Summit in Mexico. The Award pays tribute to her significant contribution to dairy research worldwide.

Professor Ylva Ardö has developed a new technique to preserve milk samples using bronopol (not detrimental to health) for analysis of milk for payment and breeding. The technique is useful for spectroscopic as well as laboratory reference methods analysing such things as fat, protein, lactose and cell content.

The technique is used by most routine analysis laboratories for milk samples in Europe, North America and Australia.

Professor Ardö is an initiator of a concept for a new variety of highly appreciated, low-fat, semi-hard cheese (10% fat) that has been produced by dairy companies for more than 15 years, with the first such cheeses produced winning several prizes.

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

Moreover, the professor has played a leading role in the development of analysis methods for characterisation for cheese ripening in international cooperation.

In the field of international education in dairy technology, Professor Ardö has been the initiator and driving force behind internationalisation of the renowned Danish dairy education MSc programme at a high academic level.