Phage protection: DSM launches new culture range for young cheddar and barrel cheese

16 Jul 2019 --- Science-based company active in nutrition, health and sustainable living, Royal DSM (DSM), is launching DelvoCheese CH-120 cultures for young cheddar and barrel cheese. The strains are said to be resistant to phages – viruses that infect the bacteria crucial for cheesemaking. This enables cheesemakers to increase production efficiency, while also delivering cheese that is of consistent quality, taste and texture, the company highlights. This is critical during the long production runs demanded by today’s large, cost-driven cheese diaries.

The new range has been tested by selected commercial cheesemakers and consists of six rotations with culture strains that resist phages. This offers good durable phage protection and consistent performance, while creating cheese with the typical neutral flavor and firm, resilient texture of cheddar cheese that the market expects, according to DSM.

The majority of cheddar cheeses that are produced globally are young or barrel cheese. These are widely used in the food processing and services industries for food products, including ready meals, pizza and burgers. As of late, cheese producers have tightened chemical composition and functionality specifications to be able to answer consumer demands for high-quality and consistently performing cheese. Speed and efficiency are crucial in allowing cheesemakers to stand out. 

Young and barrel cheeses are used in the food processing and service industries for products including pizza. “We designed the new DelvoCheese CH-120 cultures with cheese producers’ needs in mind,” says Evandro Oliveira de Souza, Business Lead for Cheese at DSM. “We know that reliability, consistency and efficiency are essential to helping them produce high-quality, great-tasting cheddar cheeses faster and more effectively, while also prioritizing robust protection against phages.”

The cultures will debut at the International Cheese Awards 2019 in Nantwich, Cheshire, UK, where visitors will be able to learn more about DSM’s portfolio of cultures, enzymes and coagulants. 

The market for dairy cultures is currently filled with innovations offering flavor boosts, nutrition power-ups, ambient shelf life extension and more, thanks to scientific advancements in starter culture technology. One key trend is the desire for distinction, with consumers looking for “locally-produced” cheeses with a unique flavor. 

Recently, DSM has responded to calls to make the dairy industry more ethical by joining the Farming for Generations alliance. The collaboration with seven other agricultural sector players, including Danone, aims to help dairy farmers adopt more sustainable regenerative farming practices.

Taking sustainability a step further, Perfect Day has developed a technique to produce dairy proteins whey and casein without the use of animals. The vegan and lactose-free product is made by using genetically modified microflora to ferment sugar into protein. An ice cream using the protein has been released, and the company is hoping to collaborate with dairy players to create more products. 

Edited by Katherine Durrell