Innovation award for women goes to Päivi Myllärinen

Päivi Myllärinen, Doctor of Food Sciences on Friday has been awarded the Innovation award for women.

​ Speaker of Parliament 0Paula Risikko has handed over the award to Myllärinen, said a press release issued by the Parliament.

By combining biotechnical and thermomechanical methods, Myllärinen has developed novel dairy products. Päivi Myllärinen’s research and product development work is essentially based on nature’s own catalysts, i.e. enzymes, whose utilization in the dairy industry Myllärinen has pioneered.

She has harnessed enzymes and a broad combination of thermomechanical unit processes in the processing of milk and developed innovative dairy technology.

Through her open-minded research and development efforts, Päivi Myllärinen has created important future potential, among other things, for using the latest research data on intestinal microflora in the development of functional food.

Päivi Myllärinen’s innovations have considerably increased the value added by processing milk.

She has developed innovative dairy-technological methods and created several products based on them and intended for different target groups. In anticipation of vegan and different types of vegetarian diets, she has utilized her grain technology expertise for developing the first plant-based milk product alternatives. Päivi Myllärinen is employed at Valio.

The innovation award from the Parliament commemorates the anniversary of universal and equal suffrage on 1 June. The award is worth EUR 110,000 and it will be granted in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The award is granted to a woman or a group of women for a scientifically significant innovation in the field of technology or economy.

The Technology Academy Finland foundation has arranged the award process in practice. The Chancellery Commission of the Parliament has selected the winner from the group of candidates.