ABSTRACT

The dairy industry is generally considered to be the largest source of food processing wastewater

in many countries. As awareness of the importance of improved standards of wastewater

treatment grows, process requirements have become increasingly stringent. Although the dairy

industry is not commonly associated with severe environmental problems, it must continually

consider its environmental impact — particularly as dairy pollutants are mainly of organic origin.

For dairy companies with good effluent management systems in place [1], treatment is not a major

problem, but when accidents happen, the resulting publicity can be embarrassing and very costly.