Valio Launches Transglutaminase Technology for Cost-Effective Yogurts and Cheese

18 Apr 2013 --- Valio’s Helsinki Research Centre innovations embrace more cost-effective processing techniques yielding the highest quality dairy products. One program that’s proven particularly successful is the development of new process technologies that exploit the protein cross-linking enzyme qualities of transglutaminase.

Yet again our researchers have proven adept in combining their broad scientific-know-how with special expertise in milk components to transfer and adjust solutions from one platform to serve another.

“We have packaged our transglutaminase IP under the name ProVa, with different bundles available for yoghurt and cheese manufacture. The final step leverages our dairy process know-how to offer easy integration of ProVa technology with licensees’ existing production systems.”
 
The new techniques are allied with the formulation of a stable, easy-to-use liquid enzyme preparation that greatly simplifies use in liquid dairy streams, enabling accurate dosing and homogeneous mixing while preventing dusting.

The potential for transglutaminase as a processing aid in dairy manufacture to increase viscosity and provide significant improvements in structure and yield had long been seen as little more than a tantalizing promise just out of reach.
 
But Valio scientists specialize in realizing potential and have succeeded in designing an enzyme format for robust and consistent production. We’ve been rolling out this technology since 2005 across our manufacturing sites for yoghurt, fermented milk and Edam cheese. The result is consistently high quality consumer products at a lower cost per unit.

ProVa delivers an environmental dividend as the process savings in raw materials and energy clearly promote sustainability and present an opportunity to raise the licensee’s green credentials. From a marketing perspective, this can be communicated directly to consumers in terms of their buying an environmentally sound product, and to all stakeholders as a matter of corporate social responsibility.

ProVa Yoghurt is a proven technology that delivers substantial savings in protein usage for spoonable yoghurts and fermented milks, increasing thickening without gelatin or hydrocolloids.
 
Valio has benefited from full-scale commercial application since 2008 with reduced syneresis and energy costs. On the product side, there are no adverse effects on texture or flavour throughout shelf-life. So consumers will find your yoghurts as thick and tasty as when they left the plant, helping to fuel demand.
 
The mechanism through which transglutaminase reduces the volume of milk that goes into making a set weight of cheese is entirely different to that applied- for cost-efficient fresh dairy processes. Valio scientists have nevertheless developed the essential expertise ready for licensing partners to deploy Cheese ProVa with ease and realize the savings on offer.

Yoghurt ProVa 10
• 10% less protein required for the same viscosity
• No capital investment required
 
Yoghurt ProVa 18
• 18% less protein required for the same viscosity
• Moderate capital investment required
 
Cheese ProVa
• Ideal for Edam type cheeses
• In commercial use since 2010
• 5% less milk used to produce the same weight of cheese
• No adverse effects on texture or taste throughout ripening and shelf-life