Feta and similar cheese types are manufactured by full сoncentration of the milk using UF. Culture or acid, rennet, salt and other additives are added to the retentate, and it can then be cast straight into the appropriate packaging.
Fresh cheese types based on fermented milk or cream, such as quark or cream cheese, can also be manufactured using UF. After fermentation, the product is concentrated to the desired level followed by final treatment and packaging. The UF process results in a high, uniform quality and a very high yield. At the same time it is possible to manufacture several different products on the same UF plant.
Microfiltration removes impurities and harmful microorganisms from the cheese brine swiftly and efficiently, while preserving the natural chemical balance of the brine. We have developed the special BrineClear™ concept, which has proved to be a supremely good solution, technically as well as financially
Good quality brine is essential to cheese flavour, taste, rind, and appearance of the cheese. Poor brine, however, is a significant threat to the cheese quality and can lead to spoilage of the cheese and economic loss.
Over time, microorganisms such as bacteria, spores, yeast, and mould will build up in the brine and be transferred to the cheese during the salting process. Eventually, heavily contaminated brine can lead to surface contamination of the cheese and degrade the cheese quality.
Our unique filtration process, the BrineClear™, physically removes undesired microorganisms, leaving clear brine. No additives are used, and the brine temperature and pH remain unchanged during the entire process. The content of whey proteins, soluble salts (e.g. NaCl and calcium), and the chemical balance of the brine is unaffected.
Two types of membrane filtration processes, namely ultrafiltration and microfiltration, are used for protein standardization in milk. While ultrafiltration is used to standardize the total protein, microfiltration is used to standardize the casein.
Standardization of the protein using ultrafiltration or microfiltration evens out the seasonal variation of the protein content in milk and results in a more stable cheese making process.
Other advantages include:
These advantages give more control of production with less quality variation in the final product due to stable process parameters and standardized protein levels.
Incorporated with the membrane system is typically the use of NIR (Near Infrared) technology to optimize the overall membrane filtration process.