RESEARCH

Packaging of cheese

Packages play an important role in quality conservation of fresh cheeses. Packaging is very important and demanding for perishable cheese products such as fresh (cottage) cheese and cut cheeses. Packages for whole Gouda cheeses help to withstand mechanical damage and act as barrier for outside contaminants. Well designed cheese packages help to extend the shelf life and improve the quality at the consumer. These benefits can be used to reach a higher level of flexibility in the distribution chain, and for a clearer positioning in the market.
 
Hard Cheeses (Dutch: Half harde kazen en Goudse kazen)
Gouda cheeses are fairly forgiving to many conditions. Cut parts of Gouda cheese are therefore mostly vacuum packed in PE/PA bags. The vacuum package retards the growth of spoilage organisms and stops contamination from out-side. The resulting shelf life is about 10 weeks. Vacuum packed hard cheeses are compact products, having logistical benefits over more spacious top-sealed MA-packages. On the other hand the top-sealed 
MA-packages have a more attractive appearance,which can enhance sales. Recent developments in material technology have made it possibleto manufacture bio-degradable vacuum bags with almost comparable properties and performance as the conventional vacuum bags. Processed hard cheese (such as grated, sliced and cut in pieces) is more demanding with respect to the packaging. These cheese products can benefit significantly from MA-package concepts.
 packaging of hard cheese
Surface moulded cheeses (Dutch: Witschimmelkazen)
Surface moulded cheeses such as Camembert and Brie are respiring products. The respiration depends strongly on the age of the cheese and hence the development stage of the surface moulds. The vitality of the surface mould depends strongly on the applied conditions in the supply chain and the microclimate inside the package.
The technology of equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging (E-MAP) allows the ideal storage microclimate for these cheeses to be approached inside the package.
For a successful implementation a close match between the respiration rate of the cheese and the film permeability is required under supply chain realistic conditions. This technology can offer large shelf life extensions of several weeks. The exact shelf life depends strongly on the nature of the product; two-three weeks is feasible for cut cheeses, whereas six weeks is possible for whole cheeses. packaging of moulded cheese
Internal moulded cheeses (Dutch: Blauwschimmelkazen) Internal moulded cheeses (such as Roquefort, Danish Blue) are slowly respiring cheeses. They are fairly tolerant to the conditions of storage and hence many packaging technologies can be applied to 
control their quality, such as: vacuum packaging and MA-packaging. Important criteria for the choice of a package are the softness of the cheese and the respiration rate.Very soft internal moulded cheeses can best be MA-packaged. Since, vacuum packaging could result in liquefying the cheese. Good packaging concepts can extend the shelf life for many weeks, strongly depending on the nature of the product.
 		packaging of blue cheese
Smear coat cheeses (Dutch: Roodbacteriekazen)
The quality of smear coated cheeses (Port Salut, Kernhem, Münster) is strongly dependant on the vitality of the surface culture (often Brevibacterium Linens), which is related to the relative humidity inside the package. 
A high controlled humidity prohibits the growth of competing organisms such as moulds. Therefore, the technology of Modified Humidity Packaging is well suited for this type of soft cheese. A shelf life of six to ten weeks can be obtained. packaging of spread cheese
Fresh and cream cheeses (Dutch: verse roomkazen)
Fresh cheeses (Mon Chou, Hüttenkase) are very sensitive to dehydration. Therefore, they need to be protected from moisture loss by barrier packages. Moreover light and oxygen can also result in quality deterioration. Hence some of these cheeses are packed under low oxygen conditions in barrier packages, such as top-sealed MA-packages.

EC-Pack is well equipped for testing and developing packaging concepts for cheeses and cheese products. Important trends in cheese packaging at Agrotechnology & Food Innovations b.v. are:
  • New packages concepts which allow a longer cheese distribution, resulting in new markets:
  • MA-packaging
  • Active packaging
  • Matching packing concepts for pasteurised cheese products
  • Bio-degradable cheese packaging concepts

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