The 115-year-old Hungarian Dairy Research Institute could best introduce itself in one sentence as follows: We are one of Hungary\u2019s oldest reputable R&D and services institutes in the food industry aiming to develop the dairy industry, milk production, and the manufacturing of quality food products, continuously consolidating and monitoring food quality and food safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, the country experienced remarkable economic growth mostly driven by intensive cultivation and animal breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The introduction and continuous improvement of intensive farming and the quality control of the derived products required a solid scientific and institutional background. Agricultural development and research were undertaken at experimental stations that proliferated during the Dual Monarchy. The Hungarian Royal Dairy Experiment Station was established in 1903 in the town of Magyar\u00f3v\u00e1r (the official name of Mosonmagyar\u00f3v\u00e1r at the time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agrarian ministry had a good reason to select Magyar\u00f3v\u00e1r as the seat of the Institute. Not the least, they did so because of the professional and scientific environment the Hungarian Royal Academy of Farming in Magyar\u00f3v\u00e1r had fostered for nearly a hundred years, and because the north-western region of old Hungary was one of the most important hubs of domestic dairy cow breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ign\u00e1c Dar\u00e1nyi, the minister responsible for agriculture in the early 20th century, appointed Imre Ujhelyi\u2014a member of the Academy, the founder of the Cattle Farming Association and the creator of the dairy cooperative of the villages in Moson county\u2014as the director of the Institute. Ujhelyi, who had a degree in veterinary sciences and agriculture, started his job in the current building of the Institute with a chemist, a bacteriologist, a butter- and cheese-maker and two unskilled workers (servants). The building also hosted the Hungarian Royal Chemistry Experiment Station then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The controlling authority entrusted the Institute with the following tasks: the continuous chemical and bacteriological testing of milk samples, the development of new skimming and pasteurisation procedures, the production of butter and cheese cultures, the testing of dairy machinery and tools, and the support and constant control of dairy cooperatives. The Institute conducted 7 to 8 thousand routine tests a year the majority of which were aimed at the examination of milk fat. Based on these test results, the dairy cooperatives of farmers and manors could classify their milk and pick their cows for breeding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through his practice, Ujhegyi contributed to the creation of the Hungarian \u00d3v\u00e1ri cheese and helped develop the production technology of the pungent, yet very popular Illmici cheese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Institute was held in high esteem internationally, authorities in the field like Bernhard Bang, the world-famous bacteriologist who was the first to describe Brucella abortus<\/em>, also paid a visit, just like Christian Barthel from Sweden, the founder of dairy bacteriology. In 1909, Budapest hosted the 4th International Dairy Congress with more than a thousand attendants where the Institute could also bolster its reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ujhegyi was followed by another veterinarian and certified farmer, Ott\u00f3 Gratz. During his term from 1909 to 1934, the Institute moved to the building on Lucsony street where the bulk of its work is still carried out. With the expansion of its floor area, new laboratories were set up and a pilot plant suitable for industrial-scale pasteurisation and the production of butter, cheese and processed cheese was established. It was in this plant that the methodology for the production of the Tilsiter-type \u00d3v\u00e1ri cheese had been worked out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The production of Emmental cheese and Roquefort-like cheeses started in Hungary through the advocacy of Gratz. Under his control, an advanced course in dairy farming and the dairy industry was launched in 1926 to provide an opportunity for learning the theory and practice of dairy farming and production at a high standard, as stated in the decree that established the course. He is also known for contributing to the publication of Milk and dairy products<\/em>with a special focus on the production of butter, cheese, condensed milk and other dairy products<\/em> (A tej \u00e9s tejterm\u00e9kek. K\u00fcl\u00f6n\u00f6s tekintettel a vaj, sajt, a tejkonzervek \u00e9s egy\u00e9b tejk\u00e9sz\u00edtm\u00e9nyek gy\u00e1rt\u00e1s\u00e1ra<\/em>), the first dairy farming book in Hungarian with over six hundred pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1934 the Institute was remerged with its parent institution, the Chemistry Experiment Station where it continued its operation as the Dairy Experiment Department. This unit was again headed by a veterinarian, K\u00e1roly Vas, whose short term of office (1934\u20131936) was mainly dedicated to research in dairy microbiology. Together with J\u00f3zsef Csisz\u00e1r, the next director, he co-published a paper on the Vas-Csisz\u00e1r aroma reaction, a procedure still in use to examine the aroma production of butter cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1936\u2014when the Institute became an independent entity again\u2014saw another veterinarian, Istv\u00e1n Ny\u00edredi at the helm. He was not in charge for long, under his short leadership he mainly focused on dairy microbiology and dairy hygiene. It was under his supervision that a technological model plant was built.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1940, J\u00f3zsef Csisz\u00e1r\u2014the brother of Vilmos Csisz\u00e1r and a veterinarian\u2014took over the management of the Station. At first the remarkably practice-oriented researcher worked on cheese processing and studied the theoretical and practical aspects of processed cheese making as well as the microbiology of the required cultures. In 1941, he launched the Dairy Farming<\/em> (Tejgazdas\u00e1g<\/em>) journal which soon became an international reference point in dairy research and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Institute was then basically paralysed in a Hungary torn by war, its equipment was shipped to Germany. The machinery and instruments taken were later on found intact packed in five freight wagons. They were brought back to Hungary in 1947 to enable a fresh start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The postwar years were dedicated to reconstruction. Oddly enough, and without precedent in Hungary, the same J\u00f3zsef Csisz\u00e1r who had been appointed to this position in 1940 remained at the helm of the Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Collectivisation presented the Institute with new tasks. The production technologies for large-scale dairy factories that were to replace small or medium-sized cheese and butter plants had to be worked out. During this time, the Institute came up with modern methods for the large-scale production of hard cheeses (e.g. Pann\u00f3nia) and semi-hard cheeses (e.g. Lajta).<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the four years following the death of J\u00f3zsef Csisz\u00e1r, the Institute had three directors in a row. G\u00e1bor Tomka, Mih\u00e1ly Balatoni and Ferenc Vars\u00e1nyi all chose dairy technology as their main field of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s, the research efforts of the Institute centred around cheese-making as the country saw a massive rise in its cheese export. New technological procedures were developed, options of producing sheep\u2019s milk cheese on an industrial scale were explored, the modes of production automation were studied and the possibilities to prevent certain \u201cdiseases\u201d affecting cheese were examined. Besides methods to make cheese from pasteurised milk, a modern production technology for Pann\u00f3nia cheese was worked out and ways to enhance the quality of Emmental cheese were developed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The succeeding directors, B\u00e9la Hunk\u00e1r and Ferenc Ketting were helped by outstanding researchers such as G\u00e1bor Pulay and G\u00e9za Szab\u00f3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A division in Budapest was established in 1962 and a field office in P\u00e9cs was set up in 1970. In the early 70\u2019s, the number of employees on these three sites grew to 100. The supervisory authority of the Institute also changed\u2014in 1968 the Trust of Dairy Companies took over the reins from the Ministry of Agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the early 1970s until the turn of the millennium, research focused on the comprehensive development of product and production technologies. This era saw the development of homogenisation processes, dairy spread-making practices, membrane separation techniques as well as the technology for the production of cream cheese by ultrafiltration and vacuum evaporation. Connections between the dairy industry and environment protection were also explored. The above research efforts began under the directorship of Ferenc Ketting and continued when Gy\u00f6rgy Babella took over as director. The latter had brilliant colleagues to contribute, such as L\u00e1szl\u00f3 Stark, S\u00e1ndor Szak\u00e1ly and Mikl\u00f3s Szeg\u0151, to name a few. The researchers at the Institute held several patents which were and are still applied successfully both in Hungary and abroad (feta cheeses, milk protein concentrates, high-fat cream cheeses, etc. produced by ultrafiltration).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Work to introduce a state-of-the-art raw milk classification system began in the 80\u2019s. With Andr\u00e1s Unger heading the Institute, laboratories were set up to enable the establishment of modern procedures of raw milk classification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers turned their mind to probiotics and prebiotics in the 1980\u2019s. These research projects are still ongoing and offer the prospect of robust pharmaceutical and commercial benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hungarian Dairy Research Institute became a private limited company on 1 January 1993. To learn more about our operation as a business association and how we rise to the challenges of today, read the next part of the article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Istv\u00e1n K\u00f3tai Dr. R\u00f3bert Kocsis Gy\u00f6rgy Feh\u00e9r<\/em>: The 115-year-old Hungarian Dairy Research Institute could best introduce itself in one sentence as follows: We are one of Hungary\u2019s oldest reputable R&D and services institutes in the food industry aiming to develop the dairy industry, milk production, and the manufacturing of quality food products, continuously consolidating and monitoring food quality and food safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":4,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/intezet-tortenete-1-1024x576.jpg",1024,576,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"kovesdi","author_link":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/author\/kovesdi\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":4,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"fresh news","parent":0,"count":12,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":4,"category_count":12,"category_description":"fresh news","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtki.hu\/hdri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Let\u2019s start with \u201cone of the oldest reputable\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/em><\/strong>senior lecturer
Hungarian<\/em>University of Veterinary Sciences<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/em><\/strong>managing director
Hungarian Dairy Research Institute Ltd<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nReferences:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
A mez\u0151gazdas\u00e1gi k\u00eds\u00e9rlet\u00fcgyi \u00e1llom\u00e1sok szerepe a dualizmuskori agr\u00e1rfejl\u0151d\u00e9sben [The role of agrarian experiment stations in the evolution of agriculture during the Dual Monarchy]
Mez\u0151gazdas\u00e1gi M\u00fazeum, Budapest, 1994<\/em>
R\u00f3bert Kocsis<\/em> \u2013 Istv\u00e1n K\u00f3ta<\/em>i:
Imre Ujhelyi<\/em><\/em> munk\u00e1ss\u00e1ga \u00e9s szerepe a Magyar Tejgazdas\u00e1gi K\u00eds\u00e9rleti Int\u00e9zet megalap\u00edt\u00e1s\u00e1ban [The work of Imre Ujhelyi and his contribution to the establishment of the Hungarian Dairy Research Institute]
XXXVI. \u00d3v\u00e1ri Tudom\u00e1nyos Nap, 2016<\/em>
Istv\u00e1n K\u00f3tai<\/em> \u2013 R\u00f3bert Kocsis<\/em>:
Arcok a r\u00e9gm\u00faltb\u00f3l. Imre Ujhelyi<\/em> [Faces from the past: Imre Ujhelyi]
Kamarai \u00c1llatorvos, 2017. 2. sz.<\/em>
Andr\u00e1s Unger<\/em>:
100 \u00e9ve alap\u00edtott\u00e1k a Magyar Tejgazdas\u00e1gi K\u00eds\u00e9rleti Int\u00e9zetet [Established a 100 years ago: The Hungarian Dairy Research Institute]
Tejgazdas\u00e1g, LXIII. 2. (2003)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"