5 replies to this topic

[bigmouse]

Hi All,

 

I am looking in to some incidence of bloating in finished good crumbled cheese. The defect has shown up anywhere from 1 week to several months after conversion. There is some indication of yeast issues at the producer, although no confirmed culprit has been identified in the finished good yet. Since we have the bulk product now, is there anything that can be done to prevent or limit the potential for bloating to happen after conversion, assuming this is micro related? Scavenge gasses or restrict micro activity?

 

Some details: no MAP/not set up for it, no preservatives added at conversion

 

Thank you!

[Scampi]

what kind of cheese?

 

general storage conditions please (temp, containers other stuff in the warehouse)

[bigmouse]

what kind of cheese?

 

general storage conditions please (temp, containers other stuff in the warehouse)

 

This is a blue cheese.

Warehouse storage generally <42F.

Product may warm closer to 50F while staged.

Packaging into both moderate and low O2TR films.

[Scampi]

I would be looking to your environment, in all likelyhood your facility is introducing bacteria and/or yeast during your process

 

The fact that the bloating isn't consistent tells me that it's most likely your sanitation that is the root cause----have a look at titrations to see if there is a corelation between issues there and bloated lots

 

Generally, package swelling is caused by carbon dioxide (gas) formation, a by-product of microbial growth.

[jfrey123]

This is a blue cheese.

Warehouse storage generally <42F.

Product may warm closer to 50F while staged.

Packaging into both moderate and low O2TR films.

 

I agree with Scampi about sanitation potentially affecting things, probably a good opportunity to review records and see if you've got any data out of whack.

 

But your comment about temp while staged raised a flag for me too.  50F would be temp abuse for all the cheese my plants receive, per the mfg spec.  When temp is supposed to inhibit the activity of micro, letting it get above temp for a randomized period (such as staging) could be a factor in this intermittent bloat.  In your shoes as QA, I'd run a quick little validation of the staging process and determine what temperatures you're actually seeing in a few different loads of product.  Try and account for the worst case scenario:  if it can be staged up to 4 hours waiting to load, figure out how hot palletized containers are getting in that period.  

[Tony-C]

Hi bigmouse,

 

Blowing in cheese packs is usually caused by Yeast contamination.

 

You will need to look for contamination in your incoming cheese, environment (including air) and packaging. Once you have identified the source, it will be easier to advise on a solution.

 

For this type of problem AKQ (Accelerated Keeping Quality) tests can be performed by incubating packs at 21 ˚ and 30 ˚ C. You will see blowing within a day or so for heavily contaminated packs.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony