Articles by Samuel D. Alcaine

CulturallySpeaking-Alcaine

Fermented dairy could have a place in the alcohol aisle

If plants can find success in markets built on dairy, why can’t dairy find success in the alcoholic beverage arena — a market built on plants?
Samuel D. Alcaine
May 15, 2019
Dairy is one of the coolest, if not the coolest, food categories in the grocery store. How do I know? Because every time I walk down the dairy aisle, I see another food trying to get into its space.
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CulturallySpeaking-Alcaine

The positive side of lactose

Studies are showing that lactose and certain lactose-derived carbohydrates can positively influence gut health
Samuel D. Alcaine
February 11, 2019
When you read the word lactose, what do you think? Does the processor in you wonder what you'll do with so much of it? Does the marketer in you wish of ways to be free of it? Does the consumer in you feel a little bloated?
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CulturallySpeaking-Alcaine

Cultured dairy: Rethinking phage

Not all phage are problematic - you might actually want some to go viral in your facility
Samuel D. Alcaine
December 11, 2018
It seems like anything, your insightful comments, cat pictures, video of your coworker falling over, can be instantly shared, then spread from one smartphone, connected mind to the next, like a super-contagious flu. There rarely seems to be any rhyme or reason to their spread.
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CulturallySpeaking-Alcaine

For food microbiology, the change of the day is next-generation sequencing

Next-generation sequencing has made a huge impact on microbial culture by enabling better forensic tools to identify bacterial strains
Samuel D. Alcaine
September 10, 2018
Change is increasingly beginning to seem like the only constant. There's the ever-rotating millennial tastes replacing those of the steadfast boomers. There's my always updating Apple's iOS, forcing me to upgrade from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone X.
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CulturallySpeaking-Alcaine

The acid 'whey' — a new hero's journey?

The byproduct of Greek yogurt manufacturing could be the magic elixir for creating a new superhero in your portfolio.
Samuel D. Alcaine
May 8, 2018

To the yang of every superhero’s rise, there is the yin of an equally formidable foe. Batman and the Joker, Spiderman and the Green Goblin, and in the fermented dairy aisle, Greek yogurt and acid whey.


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CulturallySpeaking-Alcaine

A nature-based spoilage solution?

Bio-protective cultures could make your brand more attractive to diverse consumers
Samuel D. Alcaine
February 8, 2018

It is not hard to imagine a consumer reaching past a bloated yogurt package with a look of disgust. Now imagine him or her reaching past that yeast-spoiled cup for a pristine package of the adjacent yogurt brand, turning it over and then exclaiming, in equal disgust, "Sorbate, I’m not eating that!" The yogurt goes back on the shelf, and the consumer walks away from the cultured dairy aisle.


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