dsm-firmenich unveils enhanced Dairy Safe cultures for improved cheese bioprotection
Swiss-Dutch nutrition specialist dsm-firmenich has launched four new Dairy Safe™ culture rotations designed to deliver enhanced phage resistance and temperature stability for semi-hard, hard, and continental-style cheese production. The all-in-one protective cultures address growing industry demands for label-friendly preservation solutions whilst maintaining consistent quality parameters.
Enhanced phage robustness targets production stability
The newly developed culture strains incorporate additional bacterial variants per rotation, significantly improving resistance to bacteriophage contamination – a persistent challenge in commercial cheese manufacturing. This enhanced phage robustness provides cheesemakers with improved production reliability and reduced risk of batch failures.
The cultures demonstrate superior temperature tolerance compared to previous generations, expanding their applicability across diverse cheese-making processes. This thermal stability enables consistent performance across varying production conditions whilst maintaining controlled acidification profiles and predictable gas production for eye formation.
Nisin production delivers natural preservation
Central to the Dairy Safe™ technology is the strategic combination of nisin-producing Lactococcus lactis strains alongside nisin-immune starter cultures. The nisin-producing strains generate higher concentrations of the antimicrobial peptide than competing market solutions, effectively preventing butyric acid fermentation and inhibiting gram-positive spoilage bacteria including Clostridia tyrobutyricum.
This dual-strain approach prevents late blowing defects – characterised by unwanted gas production leading to crack and slit formation – whilst ensuring consistent acidification patterns. The nisin-immune starter cultures maintain standard direct-to-vat performance characteristics, delivering reliable flavour development and texture formation.
Market response to clean-label demands
The cultures address significant market pressures, with 67% of European consumers actively avoiding unfamiliar ingredients on food labels. Additionally, 10% of cheese launches now feature additive-free claims, reflecting changing consumer preferences.
“Spoilage can be devastating to cheesemakers – for quality and profitability,” said Pim van Hee, Global Business Director Cheese Cultures at dsm-firmenich. “That’s why we set out to develop
a new generation of all-in-one protective cultures that give cheese producers complete peace of mind.”
Technical specifications and applications
The cultures are formulated in two flavour profiles – buttery savoury and sweet bouillon – and demonstrate compatibility with cow, goat, and sheep milk systems. Unlike conventional preservation methods such as lysozyme and nitrate additions, the cultures support organic certification claims whilst remaining non-dairy allergen free.
Evandro Oliveira de Souza, Global Senior Vice President at dsm-firmenich, emphasised the company’s commitment:
“We are proud to offer solutions that not only protect and enhance cheese quality but also help our partners respond to evolving consumer expectations.”
The Dairy Safe™ range, trusted by the industry for over 30 years, includes comprehensive technical support services for implementation optimisation.
For more information, visit: www.dsm-firmenich.com
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