Chr. Hansen has introduced what it describes as the next generation of its STI cheese cultures for mozzarella and other pasta filata type cheeses on the market. Pasta filata, which covers cheese types such as mozzarella, pizza cheese, provolone and kashkaval, are enjoyed by people all over the world, said the company, with their great diversity making it the largest and most global cheese segment of all. Pasta filata is an essential ingredient in home-cooking and prepared meals such as pizza and pasta dishes, sauces and salads.
The combination of pervasive consumer trends such as ‘quick, easy & on the go’ and a growing middle-class in emerging markets fuels growth in global pasta filata consumption, according to Chr. Hansen. Meanwhile industry consolidation and private label shares push cheese plants to intensify the effort to increase throughput and reduce downgrades.
“A fast and consistent acidification process is essential to pasta filata plants,” said Ulf Mortensen, application manager, cheese innovation at Chr. Hansen. “ Traditional cultures for this segment are composed of only one or two thermophilic strains that drive most of the acidification process. Some of these cultures do a great job in an environment with low phage pressure, but are vulnerable, because the impact of a phage attack on one of these strains will have a great impact on the acidification process, i.e. leaving no time to react on slow-downs or simply causing dead vats.”
Chr. Hansen’s new generation of DVS STI cultures (Direct Vat Set and Streptococcus Thermophilus Italian) for pasta filata are composed of multiple strains that the company says have each been selected to provide fast and consistent acidification with the highest phage robustness and the attractive flavour profile associated with cultures in the STI range and its predecessor the STM range.
“We have applied the newest culture design principles and compounding technology to further increase culture resistance against harmful bacteriophages, and to reduce culture variation,” continued Mortensen. “The series will support the cheese manufacturers’ effort to reduce downgrades and gain better process control, allowing our customers to optimize on milk solids and moisture content, or to steer towards target pH levels throughout the cheese-making process.”
“When cultures are vulnerable to attacks from bacteriophages there is a risk of many downgrades or high scrap levels. This is a big loss for our customers considering the value of cheese, and there is also a considerable risk associated with the brand equity of large dairies today. At Chr. Hansen we are committed to help cheese manufacturers ensure the consistency of their deliveries. We call it Risk Minus”, explains Chr. Hansen’s Anders Groen Noerager, global marketing manager, cultures & enzymes division. “Our new DVS STI cultures are specifically designed to deliver high productivity to pasta filata manufacturers, while minimizing the risks and costs associated with process variation and downgrades.”
