CHEESECOAT developed a process and machine to make a 3%-fat cheese with new bacterial cultures and coatings. A regular mozzarella has between 20 to 25% fat.

CHEESECOAT’s technical manager, Anna Fureby, from the SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, said: “Our new cheese holds the right amount of moisture for a mozzarella texture, and has no bitter or unpleasant flavour. We also developed technology to give good melting properties during pizza baking, because the low-fat cheese does not melt in the same way as a full-fat cheese.”

The processes and technology to produce the low-fat mozzarella-type cheese are designed for the fast-food and chilled ready-meal industries – such as pizza makers – who need cheese to behave predictably with no or little effect on texture and taste.

Fureby explained: “Previously, only the fat content of the cheese was reduced to create low fat cheese and the melting properties were not considered sufficiently. EU support allowed the project to bring together the necessary partners to solve the issue by combining their skills, which typically would not all be found at a single company or research organisation.”

CHEESECOAT began with new starter cultures for a cheese that imitates the characteristics of mozzarella without relying on traditional fat levels. The project tested different processing conditions – such as temperature, acidity and salt content – in collaboration with cheese manufacturer Joseph Heler in the UK to achieve the right properties, such as texture, for a cheese with as little as 3% fat.

Once CHEESECOAT had developed a cheese that had the scalability and short ripening time that met the needs of industry, they addressed the problem of ensuring the desired melting and baking properties of the cheese on pizza. Their solution was to coat the shredded cheese with a secret mixture of natural milk fat formulated with other dairy-derived ingredients so it melted in the same way as full-fat cheese.

The team developed a machine that gives the grated low-fat, hard-textured cheese a light, uniform coating of the fat mixture. Because the fat is only on the surface of the cheese, it doesn’t cancel out the benefits of the low-fat cheese.

The machine can be scaled up for large-scale production. Manufacturers can also adapt it for producing other cheeses, or even other products that require a uniform spray. It integrates into full production lines, giving manufacturers the choice to add or remove it according to production needs.

The consortium is considering different ways to commercialise the CHEESECOAT technology and plan to make a decision by this autumn.

Analysis at UK project member 2 Sisters Food Group showed that a pizza made with the CHEESECOAT cheese has half the fat of a pizza using standard mozzarella, and the same appeal to consumers. The project’s mozzarella-type cheese could be the first of many new low-fat cheeses produced using the technology, said Fureby.

Background

The CHEESECOAT project, supported with €2.4 million in EU funding, brought 3 SME associations, 3 SMEs, 1 large end-user company and 4 research centres/institutes from Sweden, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the Netherlands. The project received funding under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007-2013).

On 1 January 2014, the European Union launched a new, seven year research and innovation funding programme called Horizon 2020. Over the next seven years almost €80 billion will be invested in research and innovation projects to support Europe’s economic competitiveness and extend the frontiers of human knowledge. The EU research budget is focused mainly on improving everyday life in areas like health, the environment, transport, food and energy. Research partnerships with the pharmaceutical, aerospace, car and electronics industries also encourage private-sector investment in support of future growth and high-skilled job creation. Horizon 2020 will have an even greater focus on turning excellent ideas into marketable products, processes and services.

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