With June just a few days away and the summer solstice fast approaching, we’re already in the thick of the prime season for ice cream consumption, and its star ingredient is, quite literally, milk.

We’ve already moved on from the yoghurt ice cream craze; for a few years, everyone was eating the same ice cream, with the only variation being a few toppings that made for a highly profitable combination for brands that grew at breakneck speed. But traditional ice cream parlours also capitalised on that craze and gained significant momentum, which enabled many to stay in business and consolidate their position.

Today, ice cream is no longer a seasonal product as it was a decade ago, and its peak consumption in summer is extraordinary, giving an extra boost to milk production and transport and helping to absorb a supply that sometimes exceeds demand.

We all think that milk gives ice cream its characteristic flavour, nutrients and creaminess, but it also provides functional molecules that are essential for the production and preservation of ice cream, for which fats and proteins are responsible.

Good milk for ice cream production would be milk with good organoleptic characteristics and consistent, constant protein levels across all production batches. In this way, the same production process will result in a predictable flavour and texture in line with consumer expectations.

To achieve this, it is important to maintain processes and supply points, whilst ensuring that milk is transported with the utmost care so as not to alter its properties. We have previously discussed here how we collect milk from farms, as well as the strict temperature controls required during milk handling and storage times.

A change in the properties of the milk can ruin entire production batches of dairy products, such as ice cream, altering crucial aspects like flavour and consistency, with significant costs in terms of product loss and damage to reputation.

MEPs on the Transport Committee have proposed a reduction in tolls of up to 75% for sustainable heavy goods vehicles.

This proposal has come a long way since it was first mooted, which began with free tolls for electric lorries until June 2031; but we already know that the roll-out of this type of vehicle has been slower than expected and that its implementation is more complex than anticipated, partly due to a lack of charging infrastructure. Therefore, in an attempt to extend the benefits to less polluting combustion-powered transport, the discount has been extended to a 75% reduction in tolls for efficient vehicles, and this includes trailers and semi-trailers.

At Rios Sangiao, we provide our food liquid transport services using isothermal tankers capable of maintaining the load’s temperature for 72 hours with fluctuations of less than 2°C. Without refrigeration units. We see efficiency in this operation as our trailers consume neither fuel nor electricity to maintain a stable temperature.

However, the European directive on the efficiency of trailers and semi-trailers stipulates that only trailers equipped with electric refrigeration technology are eligible for these incentives.

We would like to point out here that ‘zero consumption’ is more sustainable than reduced consumption, and our state-of-the-art isothermal tankers represent the highest level of efficiency in the temperature-controlled transport of liquid foodstuffs.