Dairy Dialog podcast 75: NZMP, Christeyns Food Hygiene, Salon du fromage

Our guests are Rachel Marshall, technical engagement manager of the Sports and Active Lifestyles portfolio at NZMP; Peter Littleton, technical director at Christeyns Food Hygiene; Betty Koster, owner of l’amuse cheese shops and cheese exporters in the Netherlands; Nadia Herrera, export manager at Grupo Ganaderos de Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands; and Elena Kostova, market maker at Bulgarian company Harmonica.

We also have our weekly look at the global dairy markets with Charlie Hyland from INTL FCStone.

New ingredients from NZMP

Following the cancellation of Natural Products Expo West earlier this month, some companies have struggled to keep their scheduled launches on track. NZMP, the global ingredients brand of Fonterra, is adding three new protein ingredients to its expanding Sports and Active Lifestyle portfolio, hitting the US market soon and as planned.

These new ingredients are designed for use in bars and will address US consumer health needs and trends like protein quality over quantity, multi-textural experiences and low sugar offerings. They include the SureProtein Optibar 892 Whey Protein Isolate, the SureProtein ShortBar 825 Lactalbumin and the SureProtein SoftBar 1000 Milk Protein.

Rachel Marshall, the technical engagement manager for this NZMP portfolio, spoke to DairyReporter about the company’s lost plans for Expo West and how the ingredients will move forward to launch.

And Komal Mistry-Mehta, the director of the portfolio, said, “In our latest protein ingredient development, Fonterra’s New Zealand based Research and Development Centre formulated more than 1,300 bars and conducted more than 600 tests to evaluate the textural characteristics of each bar ingredient solution.”​

“As a result, the extended range of SureProtein ingredients enables a wide variety of bar solutions ranging from dough or nougat bars, through to granola and crisp bars, which ultimately enables our customers to differentiate their offerings and deliver to strong consumer preference.”​

Hard surface disinfection even more crucial for dairy industry in light of coronavirus

Christeyns Food Hygiene, based in Warrington in the UK, which manufactures and install food, dairy and beverage hygiene solutions, is stressing the importance of reducing the risks of contamination from hard surfaces as combating coronavirus continues to be top priority throughout the food chain.

As Covid-19 cases in the UK are increasing and further research into the virus is conducted, evidence is emerging that infectivity on hard surfaces can remain for up to several days in the right conditions.

“In order to assist our customers, predominantly food and beverage manufacturers, in procedures regarding hard-surface cleaning and disinfection, we are ensuring that our team are on hand to offer product advice and suggestions,”​ Peter Littleton, technical director at Christeyns Food Hygiene, said.

Currently there have not been any specific tests against formulated products with regard to Covid-19, however research published in Medical News Today has indicated an oxidizing disinfectant is the most effective. The research demonstrates a solution of hypochlorite, peracetic acid (PAA) or hydrogen peroxide are particularly effective, as these solutions are greater than 60% alcohol.

Use of a hydrogen peroxide solution such as HuwaSan TR3 has proven viricial efficacy against encapsulated viruses, bacterial and fungicidal activity.  Stabilized with ionic-silver, the solution is available in a ready-to-use trigger-spray format.

As it requires no rinsing, the product can also be used prior to the processing of organic approved products and no PPE is required.  With a shelf life of up to two years, it can be kept on hand ready for any unexpected contamination.

Christeyns Food Hygiene said its personnel can assist customers with the implementation of any necessary controls, a risk assessment with regard to the use of chemicals needs to be carried out as a site responsibility, as normal.

It added that the rigorous reinforcement of personal hygiene standards is of the upmost importance, in particular the regular washing of hands using warm water and a good quality soap and where hand-washing facilities are not available then the application of an alcohol-based hand disinfectant is recommended.

Christeyns Food Hygiene said it will continue to monitor developments and will issue further guidance to its customers should the situation change, or new technologies become available.

Salon du fromage

The salon du fromage, which runs alongside the salon de l’agriculture event in Paris, France, was one of the last events to take place before the coronavirus outbreak that saw shows being cancelled or postponed.

At the show, DairyReporter spoke to Betty Koster, owner of l’amuse​. L’amuse is a cheese exporter, which also has two cheese stores in IJmuiden and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Founded in 1989, the company sells more than 400 different cheeses.

The salon du fromage takes place every two years, and last time around, UK cheeses were featured.  This time, Spanish cheeses were in the spotlight, and we interviewed Nadia Herrera, export manager at Grupo Ganaderos de Fuerteventura​.

The company, founded in 1983, is located on the second largest of the Canary Islands, Fuerteventura. Grupo Ganaderos de Fuerteventura has four cow and goat cheese brands in its portfolio: Maxorata, El Tofio, Selectum and Tobar de Oso.  It also includes the Prolasa range of goat milk yogurts.

There were companies from other countries in attendance, one of which was Bulgarian company Harmonica​. We talked to Elena Kostova, market maker, about the company.

Harmonica started out in 2006 with just one product, as the first organic yogurt producer in Bulgaria. The company’s organic product list now includes cheeses, kefir, probiotics, snacks, cordials, tahini, vegan products, nut butters, honey products, a variety of vegetable spreads, mushrooms, peppers, beans, preserves, oils, jams and more.

The company has now grown to be one of the biggest in Bulgaria, and exports to more than 20 countries, supplying organic and health stores, restaurants, and large supermarkets.