Cheese culture may increase output by 4%, claims DuPont

Danisco claims to have created starter cultures that may help quark and fresh cheese manufacturers increase their output by up to 4% by allowing businesses to extract more curd from the milk than other cultures. The company said it developed the cultures through a DuPont research project aimed at optimising raw material usage for fresh cheese manufacturers, many of whom are feeling the pressure of increased costs.

According to DuPont, the Choozit Fresh starter cultures do not require increased milk consumption and businesses do not need specialised equipment to use the cultures. It says the cheese the cultures produce “has a clean, fresh flavour profile and is prone to minimal post-acidification”.

A facility that uses 3 million kilos of milk per week can increase its fresh cheese output by 16.5 tonnes by using the cultures, DuPont said.

The cultures are pH stable and robust towards bacterial attack and may have a slightly faster fermentation time than conventional starter cultures. Direct inoculation in the cheese vat makes them easier to use, according to DuPont.

The level of non-protein nitrogen in the acid whey waste from quark production drew the attention of the DuPont research team.

“We found that the non-protein nitrogen was the result of protein loss from the milk, caused by the high protein-degrading enzyme activity of the starter cultures, especially bulk starters, during fermentation,” said Annie Mornet, Global Product Manager, Choozit, DuPont Nutrition and Health.

“This protein loss has a direct negative impact on the dry matter content of the curd, reducing final product yield.”

DuPont is optimistic about the effectiveness of the cultures in industry: “Our industrial trials have demonstrated excellent results with Choozit Fresh. These also have been confirmed by an independent research institute,” said Mornet.