Pasta filata, which covers cheese types such as mozzarella, pizza cheese, provolone and kashkaval, are enjoyed by people all over the world. The great diversity makes it the largest and most global cheese segment of all. Pasta filata is an essential ingredient in home-cooking and prepared meals such as delicious pizza and pasta dishes, tasty sauces and healthy salads.

Growing demand – pressure on production

The combination of pervasive consumer trends such as ‘quick, easy & on the go’ and a growing middle-class in emerging markets fuels growth in global pasta filata consumption. Meanwhile industry consolidation and private label shares push cheese plants to intensify the effort to increase throughput and reduce downgrades.

“A fast and consistent acidification process is essential to pasta filata plants. Traditional cultures for this segment are composed of only one or two thermophilic strains that drive most of the acidification process,” explains Ulf Mortensen, Application Manager, Cheese Innovation at Chr. Hansen.

“Some of these cultures do a great job in an environment with low phage pressure, but are vulnerable, because the impact of a phage attack on one of these strains will have a great impact on the acidification process, i.e. leaving no time to react on slow-downs or simply causing dead vats.”

Robustness and consistency are key

Chr. Hansen new generation of DVS® STI™ cultures (Direct Vat Set and Streptococcus Thermophilus Italian) for pasta filata are composed of multiple strains that have each been carefully selected to provide fast and consistent acidification with the highest phage robustness and the attractive flavor profile associated with cultures in the STI™ range and its predecessor the STM™ range.

“We have applied the newest culture design principles and compounding technology to further increase culture resistance against harmful bacteriophages, and to reduce culture variation. The series will support the cheese manufacturers’ effort to reduce downgrades and gain better process control, allowing our customers to optimize on milk solids and moisture content, or to steer towards target pH levels throughout the cheese-making process,” says Ulf Mortensen.

Risk Minus™ - your insurance policy to secure consistent delivery

“When cultures are vulnerable to attacks from bacteriophages there is a risk of many downgrades or high scrap levels. This is a big loss for our customers considering the value of cheese, and there is also a considerable risk associated with the brand equity of large dairies today. At Chr. Hansen we are committed to help cheese manufacturers ensure the consistency of their deliveries. We call it Risk Minus™”, explains Chr. Hansen’s Anders Groen Noerager, Global Marketing Manager, Cultures & Enzymes Division.

“Our new DVS® STI™ cultures are specifically designed to deliver high productivity to pasta filata manufacturers, while minimizing the risks and costs associated with process variation and downgrades.”