There is an increased awareness and focus on health among consumers, making natural solutions the number one choice.
The YOTABIO range of Bio-Protective additives & Enzymes are natural food grade bacterial cultures specifically formulated to prevent spoilage associated with the presence of Clostridia in continental semi-hard cheeses. You can optimise your production and reduce waste or quality defects with a natural solution that prevents late ripening and ensures that there is no residual nitrate or lysozyme in the whey.
Early blistering (within 48 hours) is mainly caused by coliform bacteria, while late blistering, also known as butyric fermentation, is caused by clostridia (anaerobic spore-forming bacteria) and, in most cases, spores of C. Tyrobutyricum.
Cheese vices
Late gas formation is a defect of mainly semi-hard and hard cheeses and is visually expressed by eyes of an atypical shape: enlarged, in the shape of a nut shell or cauliflower. Fermentation is also characterised by the formation of hydrogen and butyric acid (accompanied by the smell of an "old pair of socks").
Preventive measures
- A bloom defect can occur when there are 200 to 1000 spores per litre of milk. Best practice is to reduce initial contamination during milk production (from ensiling to milking hygiene).Centrifugation: The degree of spore elimination depends on the technology: bactofugation (85%-98% depending on processing conditions), static skimming (90% at best, used in traditional cheesemaking and AOP category cheeses) or microfiltration of the skimmed milk fraction (99%).
- Adding preservatives:The most commonly used is nitrate, which may or may not be legal in some countries. The nitrite formed during its use, which enters the serum, poses a certain health risk due to the formation of nitrosamines.
Lysozyme, a natural enzyme found in protein, Lysozyme has bactericidal properties, particularly effective against butyric acid bacteria. The enzyme is thermostable - heating to 90°C for 10 minutes does not reduce its activity. Concentrations of lysozyme used to suppress butyric acid microflora do not affect the development of lactic acid bacteria. Lysozyme inhibits the growth not only of butyric acid bacteria but also of other harmful microflora. It destroys the cell walls of bacteria, especially the genus Clostridium.
When you need a clean label/clean serum:
Some strains of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis are known to produce nisin. Nisin is a polypeptide antibiotic with a broad spectrum of activity against Gram-positive bacteria, including C. tyrobutyricum.
It is important that the composition of the cheese and its production process are always under control: the rate of acidification and pH, salt content, sugar fermentation, temperature in the ripening room, as well as the safety of the solutions used for the health of the consumer.
