February 17, 2026
A major international research collaboration led by Riddet Institute Fellow Laureate Professor Paul Moughan, in partnership with Yili’s Innovation Centre Oceania (YICO), is generating new insights that will help inform future WHO policy on infant nutrition. As part of the Yili Group, Westpro benefits from this global research network – ensuring our customers gain from the same world‑leading science shaping advances across Oceania and China.
Breakthrough research on how infants absorb protein
Professor Moughan – who previously chaired the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) expert consultation that set the global gold standard for evaluating protein quality (DIAAS) – has been working closely with global experts through a joint research effort coordinated by YICO at Lincoln University. Their shared goal: to better understand how babies absorb and utilise essential amino acids from breastmilk, and how this knowledge can support the advancement of infant nutrition.
The work of Professor Moughan and his team has already resulted in multiple peer reviewed papers across The Journal of Nutrition (2023), Frontiers in Nutrition (2024), and the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2025). Together, these studies deliver breakthrough data that provide a more accurate way to assess the quality of protein infants receive from breastmilk.
International expertise powering new scientific advances
His latest research with YICO, the Yili Global Maternal and Infant Nutrition Institute and Professor Yin Yulong, a Fellow of the Chinese Academy of Engineering at the Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has produced new data which deepens this understanding further and has already led to new approaches to infant nutrition production within Yili.
"This has been a hugely productive international research alliance and will no doubt lead to further advances in FAO policy," Professor Moughan said.
"Professor Yin is a digestive physiologist of significant international standing and his thoroughness, attention to detail and scientific leadership was crucial to the success of the collaboration."
"The alliance’s work will also lead to global impacts on the production of infant formula leading to improvements in the long-term health of babies and children."
"It has also been very enjoyable working with the scientific team within Yili. I have been very impressed by the technical capabilities of the team and working with them has actually been quite delightful."
A decade of innovation leadership from YICO
Head of YICO, Dr Philip Wescombe, said the Yili Innovation Centre Oceania principal aim was to act as a hub for research collaboration across Oceania.
"After 10 years, we are now well-established in driving innovation by strengthening ties with startups, expanding business opportunities, and fostering greater interaction between researchers, industry, and consumers," Dr Wescombe said.
Resident Director of Yili Group Oceania Region and CEO of Westland Milk Products, Zhiqiang Li, said Yili was proud of the work of YICO and of Yili’s teams across Oceania and in Inner Mongolia.
"We are honoured to learn of the warm and respectful relationships the company’s internal technical staff have developed with leading global researchers in China and New Zealand, the support we can provide as Asia’s largest dairy producer, and the fifth largest dairy company in the world," Mr Li said.
References
Hodgkinson, S. M., Xiong, X., Yan, Y., Wu, Y., Szeto, I. M.-Y., Li, R., Wescombe, P., Duan, S., Liu, H., Yin, Y., Lim, W. X. J., & Moughan, P. J. (2023). An accurate estimate of the amino acid content of human milk collected from Chinese women adjusted for differences in amino acid digestibility. The Journal of Nutrition, 153, 3439–3447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.10.009
Moughan, P. J., Deglaire, A., Yan, Y., Wescombe, P., Lim, W. X. J., Stroebinger, N., Duan, S., Szeto, I. M.-Y., & Hodgkinson, S. (2024). Amino acid requirements of the infant: The amino acid composition of human breast milk. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11, 1446565. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1446565
Wu, Y., Yan, Y., Xiong, X., Li, R., Duan, S., Tang, M., Szeto, I. M.-Y., Liu, H., Hodgkinson, S. M., Moughan, P. J., Wescombe, P., Wang, J., & Yin, Y. (2025). Effect of different ratios of α‑lactalbumin to β‑casein in infant formula on true ileal digestibility and intestinal morphology of suckling piglets. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 73, 6144–6150. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c10520
