Mlekara tetovo
Mlekara tetovo
Dairy, Dairy, Dairy... What a delicious romance
The best bred cattle in the Southern Balkans has always been dormant in the Šar Mountains. Recognizing the quality and abundance of valleys suitable for grazing, farmers have been situated for millennia. In 1977 few enthusiastic families combined to form a company with which they could reach more people and produce more milk. This company is what is today known as Mlekara Tetovo, or Dairy Producer Tetovo. Today our methods of production have been fully automated to give our customers the best possible quality, but the recipes and craftsmanship have remained deep within the company's philosophy of delivering dairy to the dining table.
Production
Production
Our current production capability allows us to process 100 000l of milk on a daily basis, which is about a fourth of Macedonia's total daily production of milk. The milk we use comes from many subcontractors dispersed on different valleys in the Sar Mountains. Our partnership with the local farmers features regular educational programs for increasing yields and quality, but also entails quality standards we monitor on a daily basis.
Our commitment to enforcing quality standards has resulted in the implementation and certification for the Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) management system, and are in the process of acquiring ISO 9001 and Halal certifications.
Within the huge family of dairy products we are specialized in producing yellow (Bulgarian) cheeses and products which require fermentation. Our fermentation technology allows us to produce sour cream, greek yogurt, smetana, and all varieties of yogurts using different probiotic cultures, including fruit yogurts, kefir, and ayran. In addition we pasteurize and package fresh milk and are able to produce urda, a local specialty which is similar to ricotta cheese. We can also produce butter, cream cheese, different yellow cheeses, feta, mozzarella, riccotta and pecorino.
Nevertheless, due to the fact that we are constrained by the demand of the market in Macedonia, Kosovo and Albania, currently we produce these products.
Sustainability
Sustainability
Mlekara Tetovo is an environmentally friendly company, since all our waste products are recycled. In addition, we help our local community by empowering and educating local farmers. Besides the free quarterly educational programs we organize, we have also had a program worth EUR 300 000 to increase each farm's yields by giving them cows for which the farmer could pay in milk. This program is crucial in our involvement in the local community since most farmers cannot afford new cows and are reluctant to take loans with high interest rates which also require a mortgage agreement. In addition due to the frequent fluctuation of milk prices our agreements offered attractive constant milk prices with no interest rate.
