The starter cultures were developed to solve productivity and cheese quality needs for industrial-sized cheese makers.
According to Innova Market Insights, from 2012 to 2017, cheese new product development increased at 15.5% compound annual growth rate.
The increasing perception of cheese as a natural and healthy snack option, interest in origin, consumer demand for unusual flavors and convenient formats (slices, strings, spreadable) were key factors in driving these product launches, the company said.
CHOOZIT SWIFT 600 and CHOOZIT AMERI-FLEX are label-friendly ingredients, labeled as ‘cultures.’
High volume application
CHOOZIT SWIFT 600 is the newest offering in the CHOOZIT product line that has been available for years in the Americas and European markets. This range of starter cultures was designed for high-volume industrial pizza cheese and pasta filata makers looking to increase productivity with no compromise on quality.
The product is mostly resistant to bacteriophage and rarely impacted by changes in milk or the plant environment. CHOOZIT SWIFT 600 cultures have been formulated for fast and consistent acidification time, and to produce a more consistent texture. The result is fast-making pizza cheese, day after day.
Cheese senior application specialist Brian Bartholomew, DuPont Nutrition & Health, said the cultures bring about such consistency in production that pizza cheese and pasta filata makers can set the cultures and then move on without worry to other steps in the production process.
“The robust culture rotation eliminates production delays we often see in daily cheese making, allowing plants to work at greater speeds without jeopardizing texture or overall quality,” Bartholomew said.
American-style cheeses
CHOOZIT SWIFT 600 cultures have been designed to ensure iso-functional performance and consistent and secure acidification, helping food manufacturers to improve the shelf life and functionality of their products while reducing the potential for downgrades.
The other product launched, CHOOZIT AMERI-FLEX, is for American style cheese, including Cheddar, Colby and jack. The starter cultures have been created to improve the quality and consistency of cheese production under a variety of different cheese-making parameters.
CHOOZIT AMERI-FLEX is a one-bag direct to vat culture system. The single pouch blend of fast acidifying mesophilic and thermophilic strains is formulated for reliability, dependability and phage robustness.
The new starter cultures can be seen in action in pizza cheeses and other food demos at the International Cheese Technology Exposition April 17-19 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US.