NACE 10.5 – Manufacture of Dairy Products | Public Tenders

NACE 10.5: Manufacture of dairy products in public tenders. CPV codes, contracting authorities and tender examples for milk, cheese and dairy products.

Definition: NACE 10.5 covers the processing of raw milk into drinking milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt, curd and other dairy products and the manufacture of milk powder, condensed milk and casein. This also includes dairies, cheese dairies and cream stations.

Legal basis: NACE Rev. 2 (Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006) · Last updated: April 2026

What does NACE 10.5 cover?

NACE 10.5 (Manufacture of dairy products) classifies dairies and cheese dairies that process raw milk into a broad range of dairy products — a segment with consistently high demand in the public sector, particularly in institutional catering.

Group 10.5 of Division 10 covers the following activities:

Activity	Description	Typical products
Drinking-milk production	Pasteurising, homogenising, ultra-high heating	Fresh milk, UHT milk, lactose-free milk
Butter manufacture	Creaming and churning of cream	Sweet-cream butter, sour-cream butter, ghee
Cheese manufacture	Coagulating, pressing, ripening	Sliceable cheese, soft cheese, hard cheese, fresh cheese
Fermented dairy products	Cultivation with lactic-acid bacteria	Yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, curd
Preserved milk	Evaporation, drying, sterilisation	Milk powder, condensed milk, coffee cream

Public contracting authorities are all facilities with institutional catering and the EU school programme for milk and dairy products.

Public Tenders: Milk and Dairy Products

Milk and dairy products are among the largest food groups by volume in public procurement — the EU school programme, hospital catering and canteen management generate continuous tender activity.

Typical types of contract

Milk supplies for institutional catering: Framework agreements for fresh milk, UHT milk and fermented milk products for hospitals, schools and canteens
EU school programme (milk): Public tenders by the federal states for the free distribution of milk and dairy products to schoolchildren
Cheese and dairy products: Tenders for sliceable cheese, yogurt, curd and butter for public large kitchens
Milk powder for emergency stocks: Procurement of dried milk for state emergency reserves (BBK)
Infant formula for social facilities: Formula nutrition for infant wards in public hospitals
Catering with dairy products: Full-catering contracts with mandatory shares of dairy products in line with DGE quality standards

Thresholds and procedure types

Framework agreements for dairy products of public institutions frequently exceed the EU threshold for multi-year terms and bundled demand. Common procedures are open procedures and framework agreements with several lots (e.g. fresh milk, cheese, yogurt/curd, butter).

Relevant CPV codes for NACE 10.5

CPV Code	Title	Area of application
15500000	Dairy products	Top category for all dairy products
15511000	Milk	Fresh milk, UHT milk, semi-skimmed milk
15530000	Butter	Sweet-cream butter, sour-cream butter
15540000	Cheese products	Sliceable, hard, soft, fresh cheese
15551000	Yogurt and other fermented milk products	Plain yogurt, fruit yogurt, kefir
15512000	Cream	Whipping, cooking, coffee cream
15542000	Fresh cheese	Curd, ricotta, mozzarella

Current tenders can be found on TED and national procurement portals.

Contracting Authorities and Bidders

Public contracting authorities

The federal states regularly tender milk and dairy products for schoolchildren as sponsors of the EU school programme. Municipal hospitals and hospital networks, university refectories (Studentenwerke) and armed-forces catering offices are among the highest-volume buyers. Publicly run care homes procure substantial volumes of dairy products daily for breakfast and snacks. Federal authorities with civil-protection responsibilities maintain milk-powder reserves.

Companies and bidders

Dairies and cheese dairies seeking public contracts must meet the following requirements:

EU approval under Regulation (EC) 853/2004: Mandatory for businesses that process milk
HACCP and food-safety system: Seamless documentation of processing hygiene
Quality certification: IFS Food, BRC or ISO 22000 as typical requirements in EU-wide procedures
Organic certification: For tenders with organic-milk requirements (e.g. school programme)
Cold-chain logistics: Daily fresh delivery with refrigerated transport, FIFO storage
Animal-welfare evidence: Increasingly required (e.g. husbandry-form labels, AMA quality seal in Austria)

Frequently Asked Questions about NACE 10.5 and Public Tenders

How does the EU school milk programme work and how is it tendered? The EU school programme (Regulation (EU) 2017/2393) promotes the free or subsidised distribution of milk, cheese and yogurt to schoolchildren. In Germany, the federal states manage implementation and tender the supply services under procurement law. Suppliers must meet the product specifications of the school programme (origin, processing, and where applicable organic).

Can regional dairies compete with large dairy groups in public tenders? Yes — particularly through lot division by product group and regionality criteria. Many contracting authorities tender fresh milk and regional cheese specialities separately. Regional dairies benefit from short delivery routes, which can be assessed as a sustainability criterion (carbon footprint).

NACE 10.5 in context: Section C and Division 10

NACE C – Manufacturing: Parent section
NACE 10 – Manufacture of food products: Food-production division
NACE 10.1 – Processing and preserving of meat: Meat and sausage products
NACE 10.4 – Manufacture of oils and fats: Edible oils, margarine and animal fats

Last updated: April 2026 All information is provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.