Arla Foods Ingredients Launches Solution for Huge Cost Savings in Cheese

12 Feb 2014 --- Arla Food Ingredients has launched Nutrilac FastRipe, which is a natural milk protein that enables cheese-makers to reduce ripening times and save thousands of euros every year without any negative impact on product quality or shelf-life.

Ripening is a key stage of the process for continental and Cheddar-type cheeses, and this process can take from three weeks to more than a year. The new protein from Arla Foods can speed up the maturation process by anything from one to six weeks, depending on the cheese variety. The obvious benefit to the manufacturer is a big reduction in storage costs.

As an example, the company estimates that a dairy company producing 30,000 tonnes of Gouda a year, and adding “We’ve tested Nutrilac FastRipe extensively in a range of cheese types and each time we have be% Nutrilac FastRipe to its recipe, could reduce storage time by three weeks and save €12.10 per tonne of cheese produced, or €363,000 annually.

“We have tested Nutrilac FastRipe extensively in a range of cheese types and each time we have been delighted with the results,” said Arla Food Ingredient’s cheese category manager, Claus Anderson. “Ripening time is reduced by up to six weeks without any negative impact on the end product. As a result storage time is significantly reduced, and the cost savings can be huge. Importantly the application of Nutrilac FastRipe to a recipe requires no alteration to the cheese process at all.”

The natural milk protein is made with Arla Foods Ingredients’ CH- natural whey protein, which is extracted from cows’ milk. It is supplied as a fully soluble powder that can be dispersed and blended quickly and easily in cheese-milk or water – meaning there is no need to change the overall manufacturing process in any way.

Once added, FastRipe accelerates the mechanism in cheese that causes it to ripen. It softens the protein matrix in the cheese at an earlier stage to help the cheese reach its ideal texture more quickly, and then breaks down casein molecules at a faster rate than usual to release the volatile compounds that are responsible for developing flavour.

Other ripening agents, such as cultures and enzymes, have been known to break down proteins excessively, which means shelf life can be shortened and taste can be impaired, but this is not the case with Nutrilac FastRipe.

It is suitable for use in a wide range of natural cheeses, including Gouda, Edam, Manchego, Cheddar and Port Salut.

Arla recently announced it would be investing £243m in expanding its global production and it plans to double exports of European dairy products to growth markets outside of the EU by 2017. A considerable portion of this investment (£58m) is being directed into a new lactose production site in Denmark, producing value-added lactose ingredients based on whey from Arla’s nearby cheese production. These ingredients will be sold to the food industry globally by Arla’s subsidiary, Arla Food Ingredients.

By Sonya Hook