Australian Starter Culture Research Centre Limited is a non-profit research organization supported by subscriptions from dairy processing companies , especially cheese manufacturers. In the past, these companies have had to choose between maintaining and propagating bacterial starter cultures every day within their own factories or using expensive starter concentrates from commercial suppliers. Today's large cheese factories, processing a million litres or more of milk each day, demand reliable starter cultures at minimum cost. A 150 ml pottle provides sufficient inoculum for a small bulk starter tank.
Larger tanks require two or more pottles.
Two, three or even more strains can conveniently be added to each bulk starter tank. Alternatively, different starter strains can be grown in separate bulk starter units and mixed in the vat. The choice lies with each manufacturer. The CBU, like much of the food industry, has adopted a quality management system to ensure consistent quality of products and services. This certification covers all aspects of pottle production, microbiological quality control, performance testing and supply.