Tertius Cilliers completed his graduate degree at the University of Stellenbosch in 1995 (Biochemistry and Physiology), after which he joined the Elsenburg Dairy Laboratory of the Agricultural Research Council in Stellenbosch, South Africa. While working as a Dairy Researcher at Elsenburg, he also completed his Honours Degree in Biochemistry in 1997. In 2000 he joined Parmalat SA as Research and Development Manager, mainly focusing on new product and process development and in 2004 he accepted a position at Woolworths South Africa as Senior Dairy Technologist. Currently he is a Research and Development consultant to the Dairy and Food Industry, mainly focusing on the research and application of novel UV irradiation technology in the dairy and related industries as well as new product development.
The novel patented UV technology was developed by PureUV over a period of 8 years, and his involvement has been since his days at Elsenburg Dairy Laboratory. Further development and validation of the PureUV treatment system was also done in conjunction with Prof. Doug Reinemann of the UWMRIL and Prof. Rusty Bishop of the Centre for Dairy Research, Madison, WI. Some of the main benefits and possible applications of this technology include cold treatment of raw milk, reduction of bacteria not susceptible to thermal treatment, psychrotrophic reduction in refrigerated milk stored for prolonged periods, and bacteria reduction to improve milk quality and safety in parts of the world where lack of a reliable energy supply and high cost make on-farm refrigeration prohibitive.
His consultation in dairy science includes:
§ Dairy technological consultation. Consultation includes (i) identification of a problem, (ii) investigation of the problem, (iii) technology transfer, (iv) problem solving and (v) recommendations.
§ Project management new product development. Relate with industry regarding new technological advances: includes setting up of trials, costing, successful completion of trials, analysis of data, technology transfer and recommendations.
§ Consultation, training and evaluation of ad hoc students and employees of industry.
§ Presentation and formal lectures to societies and industry in South Africa
Currently he is busy with his Masters Degree in Biochemistry at the University of Stellenbosch. Title of thesis: The role of plasminogen activators in the activation of plasminogen to plasmin in the fibrinolytic system in bovine milk: classification, purification and biochemical characterization.
For more information on PureUV please visit: www.pureuv.com