Patent Description:
In cheese production, a very important chemical-physical phenomenon is the so-called cheese maturation (ripening), that is the stage during which any cheese takes on specific organoleptic characteristics (appearance, color, texture, taste and aroma) and wherein transformation of glucides (as well as lactose), proteins and lipids mainly occurs by means of suitable enzymes.

Transformation phenomena during cheese maturation are strongly influenced by many factors, including for example water and salt amount, the so-called "free-water activity" (in particular, when said parametric value is higher than <NUM>), pH, temperature and environment humidity, the ratio of the so-called "macro-nutrients" and also the form and the size of the cheese: in particular, during maturation of the cheeses belonging to the categories of "fresh cheeses" or of "soft cheeses", a strong degradation of macro-nutrients is carried out by milk enzymes and bacteria (bacteria which in turn can be naturally occurring, or intentionally added to the processing ingredients).

The main transformations occurring during maturation are:.

During these transformations, it should be paid particular attention to the action of lactic acid and of the enzymes (in particular, of proteolytic enzymes), which causes cleavage of part of the casein in suitable amino acids and peptides (which in turn confer the cheese particular aromas and tastes when it is "finished" and stabilized by a chemical/physical point of view): said cleavages soften the so-called "body" of the cheese and degrade it, and stronger/more intense, in terms of softening effects, in "fresh" and/or "soft" cheeses compared to the so-called "hard" and/or "aged" cheeses.

Amino acid degradation results also in the formation of different chemical species (for example, amines, aldehydes, ammonium, phenols, indoles and alcohols) which contribute to the determination of the aroma of a given cheese, such as for example the so-called decarboxylation, which concerns the conversion of a given amino acid into its corresponding amine: the concentration of each amine depends on the type of cheese and on the so-called "microflora".

Soft/fresh cheeses are the typologies of dairy product which are the most sensitive to the effects of lipids transformation, since, for example:.

It should also be observed that in soft and/or fresh cheeses there is a higher availability of free water (and therefore of higher "activity" of the same), and this involves a stronger bacterial metabolism and a resulting release of microbial enzymes (besides those already naturally present in milk): this condition contributes to determine an early structural, sensorial and organoleptic degradation of these specific cheese typologies.

In the light of the prior art set forth above, it is to be noted that cheeses classifiable in the categories of "fresh" and/or "soft" have several drawbacks connected to their logistical management and to their distribution and conservation. In more detail, it is to be observed that the above described chemical-physical reasons described above, fresh or soft cheese have a very limited period of conservation (or "durability"), even if they are stored at controlled temperature (usually, between <NUM> and <NUM>), indicatively between <NUM> and <NUM> days up to a maximum of <NUM> days: the fact that this period is very limited is a great disadvantage from a commercial point of view, restricting the "range of action" of sale for said products and moreover generating a considerable problem of stock of returned and/or unsold products (currently, said returned/unsold stocks are sent to become waste or to degrading fusion processes).

The publication <NPL> describes the preparation of a cottage cheese with fat content equal to <NUM>% obtained by preparing a curd and by adding thereto a cream fermented with bifidobacteria; the goal of the work is to demonstrate the viability of bifidobacteria inserted inside a cottage cheese.

Patent application <CIT> describes the preparation of a creamy dairy product with a fat percentage of at least <NUM>%, obtained by mixing a firm-bodied cream cheese curd and a cultured cream cheese dressing mix product; the goal is to obtain a cheese which maintains creaminess and spreadability at refrigerator temperature.

Patent application <CIT> exemplifies the preparation of a dairy product with fat content equal to <NUM>%, obtained by mixing a non-matured cheese (mozzarella) with a matured cheese (Cheddar cheese); the goal of this publication is to provide a process for the production of a cheese having taste and texture of a naturally matured cheese, without the need for long maturation periods.

In consideration of the drawbacks related to the intrinsic nature of the above mentioned "fresh cheeses" or "soft cheeses", the goal of the present invention is to use an innovative and original method of preparation of said types of cheeses which reduces or minimizes said drawbacks, and which therefore brings about a significant increase of the "commercial useful life" (or, in colloquial terms of the art, of the so-called "shelf life") of this kind of food.

At the same time, the method according to the invention aims to obtain a dairy product, also definable as "compound", which is completely similar, in terms of characteristic taste and features, to a corresponding "fresh" or "soft" cheese produced according to traditional techniques, and that said definition of product/compound can also be applied to a wide range of different types or commercial denominations of cheese belonging to said product categories.

Moreover, it is to observe that the present method aims to produce a dairy product/compound having among the raw materials for its production unsold fresh and soft cheeses which are typically close to their expiry (provided that they are in a good general state of conservation, under the sensorial and organoleptic profile, in addition to satisfying the obvious criteria in terms of food safety), thereby implementing an efficient way to recycle and revalue said products which would otherwise be a food waste and a considerable economic loss in terms of disposal and management.

The method according to the present invention comprises the following steps:.

As referred above, the respective composite average fat contents of said fresh and/or soft cheese, acid coagulum and re-processed dairy product differ from each other by maximum <NUM>% (being for example <NUM>%, <NUM>% and <NUM>%; or <NUM>%, <NUM>% and <NUM>%, etc.).

In the expression "fresh and/or soft cheese" used herein, the term "cheese" strictly identifies a dairy product which has concluded all the steps for providing it as "cheese" according to food regulations; therefore, the term "fresh and/or soft cheese" excludes intermediates of cheese preparation, for example curds, wheys, etc.: this is in compliance with the goal of the invention, which consists in recovering and giving value to finished fresh cheeses, which are already in full trading and selling condition as "cheese", but are close to their expiry period. Moreover, the definition "fresh and/or soft cheese" strictly identifies a product which has its own denomination corresponding to a recognized variety of fresh and/or soft cheese (for example crescenza, stracchino, mozzarella, etc.); this therefore excludes "cheese derivatives" such as mixtures of dairy products, etc..

The fresh and/or soft cheese used in the invention is characterized by a standard shelf life (also defined commercial durability, and indicated on the package according to the reference legislation) between <NUM> days and <NUM> days.

As referred above, the fresh and/or soft cheese used in the invention is further characterized in that it is "in a state of conservation close to expiry of the conservation period"; said expression, according to the present invention, identifies a product which is in the final half of its shelf life; said final half is defined according to the calculation T=P/<NUM>, where T is the time point from which the cheese can be used in the process according to the present invention and P is the standard shelf life; for example, for a conservation period of <NUM> days, T=<NUM> and the cheese will be usable from the 10th day of conservation; in the case of conservation periods which are not multiples of <NUM>, the result of the calculation is rounded down to the closest unit: for example, for a conservation period of <NUM> days, T=<NUM>,<NUM> is rounded down to <NUM>, and the cheese will be usable from the from the ninth day of conservation.

The term "close to expiry" excludes the use of the cheese after said expiry; however, by "use" is meant the moment when the cheese undergoes the beginning of the process; it is therefore possible and included in the invention that a fresh and/or soft cheese subjected to the beginning of the process at a conservation time compliant with the above-mentioned calculation exceeds the expiry of the conservation period during said process.

All the above-mentioned conservation periods are meant as assessed under "shelf condition", that is under standard conditions of conservation (in particular, temperature) suitable for the fresh and/or soft cheese used; in a non-limiting way, standard temperature conditions for this type of cheeses are generally between +<NUM> and +<NUM>° C, for example +<NUM>.

Optionally, the fresh and/or soft cheese used in the process may comprise one or more of the following additional characteristics:.

Contrary to the fresh and/or soft cheese, the "acid coagulum" added thereto in the present process is never a cheese, but is only the result of the coagulation procedure; therefore, said acid coagulum has not been subjected to all the steps which could possibly make a cheese out of it. The acid coagulum used in the dairy sector, used herein, has a pH in the range <NUM>-<NUM>. Typically, a preparation of the acid coagulum may comprise one or more of the following sub-steps:.

According to the present invention, it is to observe that a deviation of the pH value of the "final compound" (namely the re-processed dairy product) with respect to that of the starting fresh/soft cheese should not exceed ± <NUM>, since it was experimentally observed that higher relative pH variations are related to substantial modifications of the quality and the organoleptic characteristics of said final product: this is due to the fact that, since the pH value expresses the concentration of hydrogen ions available in the compound being processed, it indicates possible excessive shifts of the reaction equilibria including, indeed, an abnormal incidence of reactions involving hydrogen bonds which form with the carboxyl groups present (and said abnormal incidence would eliminate the benefits achievable with the present method/process of preparation).

As a working example, imagining processing, in accordance to the present method, a "starting" soft blue-veined cheese, it can be observed that usually this type of product has a pH equal to about <NUM>: therefore, the final compound (or re-processed dairy product) should have a pH not higher than <NUM> and not lower than <NUM>.

Regarding the relative percentages (and the resulting absolute amounts in the composition of the resulting re-processed dairy product) of the "starting" cheese and of acid coagulum, it was observed that the quantity by weight of acid coagulum (typically deriving from milk and cream) which can be added to the fresh and/or soft cheese should not exceed twice the quantity of the fresh and/or soft cheese: said proportioning is aimed, according to the invention, to maintaining the minimum sensorial and organoleptic characteristics of the cheese which is being re-processed and it was determined by technological tests performed on field (said tests allowed to prove that the sensorial characteristics of fresh and/or soft cheeses which are being re-processed are clearly perceivable, in the similar final compound, only with percentages higher than <NUM> %).

In accordance with the above-mentioned requirements, in the present process, the acid coagulum is added to the fresh and/or soft cheese in a weight ratio lower than or equal to <NUM>:<NUM>, and preferably between <NUM>:<NUM> and <NUM>:<NUM>: the compliance with said proportioning, suitably studied considering the maximum degree of pH variability of the fresh and/or soft cheeses and of acid coagula usable in the dairy sector, ensures to obtain a re-processed dairy product with a maximum pH variation between +<NUM> and -<NUM> compared to the starting fresh and/or soft cheese. The re-processed dairy product so obtained maintains organoleptic and sensorial (i.e. gustatory and olfactory) characteristics that correspond as much as possible to those of the starting "fresh and/or soft" cheese.

Turning back to the example of the blue-veined soft cheese, each <NUM> of the latter can be supplemented with maximum <NUM> acid coagulum (thereby obtaining in the re-processed dairy product percentages by weight of <NUM> % for the blue-veined cheese and <NUM> % for the acid coagulum).

In the present process, each of said fresh and/or soft cheese, acid coagulum and re-processed dairy product has a composite average fat content between <NUM>% and <NUM>% by weight; within said range, the respective composite average fat contents may be varied as desired, thereby obtaining different degrees of correspondence with values typical of products of the type "soft and/or fresh cheese" normally commercially available.

In other words, the present invention is based on mixing in variable portions (but according to the above-mentioned criterion of relative amounts) cheese "close to expiry" and acid coagulum maintaining a criterion of "compositional alignment", i.e. adding a milk/cream mixture whose fat content is substantially the same as the starting fresh or soft cheese (net of the above-mentioned tolerances).

The above mentioned criterion of compositional alignment has the goal of not distorting the macro-compositional properties of the "starting" fresh or soft cheese which is to re-process, with particular focus on the fat content present (which is valuable also from a health point of view, in addition to the energetic point of view), thereby obtaining a final composition comparable and similar to the starting cheese.

Further regarding the operational details of the method, the step of eliminating an excess moisture may be performed according to one or more of the following sub-steps:.

The step of providing fresh and/or soft cheese may be implemented by introducing said fresh and/or soft cheese into a processing vessel- for example - made of steel and, still by way of example, comprising suitable stirring means (arranged inside the processing vessel and typically comprising at least one rotary blade at a speed not exceeding <NUM> rpm), as well as suitable heating means (associated with the processing vessel and typically active on the fresh and/or soft cheese and on the acid coagulum by direct injection of steam or by thermal exchange through a wall of the processing vessel).

The step of providing the acid coagulum may be implemented by preparing a pasteurized mixture comprising whole and/or skimmed milk and cream: said pasteurized mixture has preferably an alkaline phosphatase value lower than 350mU/l. The final/definitive preparation of the acid coagulum may be achieved by one of the following sub-steps:.

Turning back to the example introduced with regard to the "blue-veined soft cheese" (and hypothesizing its fat content equal to <NUM>%), and bearing in mind the criterion of compositional alignment already introduced in the present description, the result is that the acid coagulum deriving from the milk/cream mixture should have the same fat content of the starting blue-veined soft cheese (with the above described tolerance): therefore, supposing to start from a milk/cream mixture with fat titer equal to <NUM> %, from said mixture an appropriate percentage of milk whey should be extracted in order to obtain a value consistent with the criterion of said compositional alignment.

Even more in detail, in the example already introduced, the percentage of milk whey to eliminate would be equal to <NUM>%, according to the following calculation formula: <MAT>.

Wherein the symbolic letters A, B, and C represent, respectively:.

According to the invention, the step of mixing the fresh cheese may take place in the forementioned processing vessel, while maintaining one or more of the following operating parameters:.

From the operational point of view, the heating temperature is not aimed to obtain the pasteurization of the compound, instead, the heat is provided with the main goal of dissolving the ingredients and activating the chemical-physical transformations already illustrated according to the invention: in that sense, the temperature range indicated can also be varied based on texture and the creaminess of the "starting" cheese which is being re-processed.

The present method may finally comprise a step of packaging the (re-processed) dairy product: said operational step may conveniently be carried out while maintaining a temperature of the product equal to the corresponding temperature held during the step of mixing the fresh and/or soft cheese to the acid coagulum, and it can be further carried out by sending the re-processed dairy product into appropriate hermetically sealed containers.

To completely integrate the descriptive information intelligible by a person skilled in the art (regarding the effects of the present invention), in the following are reported, by way of a non-limiting example, experimental evidences which verify the effects - and validate the hypotheses of physical-chemical phenomena underlying said effects - of adding the acid coagulum (consisting of milk and/or cream) to the fresh/soft cheese which is being re-processed (which naturally melts down by thermal effect) under the predetermined and specific conditions of the process according to the invention.

As regards the physical-chemical effects underlying the invention, it was discovered that, at the base of the present method, a "dilution" effect is created between the intact protein chains of the fresh/soft product added (that is, of the protein chains of the acid coagulum) and those broken down or partially broken down in amino acid sequences deriving from the fresh/soft cheese which has to be re-processed (that is, of the protein chains of the product "close to expiry" which are responsible for the structural and sensorial degradation of said product): without intending to be bound by theory, we think that said dilution affects binding equilibria of the protein and amino acid structure of the cheese - and in particular the available free amino and carboxylic groups - attracting and "trapping" the free water present in the product resulting on the whole during processing.

According to the method, and with the postulated (and validated) hypotheses for said method, trapping free water makes it less available to the processes of bacterial and enzymatic degradation of the food, and this results in an increased shelf life with simultaneous and synergistic maintenance of the organoleptic and sensorial (gustatory/olfactory) characteristics of the "pure" product to be re-processed.

The just mentioned advantageous synergistic effect is confirmed by the experimental analytical data collected, from which can be inferred a reduction of the value of the free-water activity "aW", in the final compound, compared to the single aW values which can be found in the starting cheese and in the milk/cream mixture (or, in other words, of the so-called acid coagulum) added to the cheese which is being re-processed: said reduction causes a significant increase of the durability of the compound, compared to the one which can be conventionally found in the fresh or soft cheese to be re-processed, as demonstrated in the successive shelf life tests performed.

In addition to the experimentations performed in terms of the determination of the increased shelf life, several practical tests of production were performed at authorized centers of dairy transformation, and it is noteworthy that also said practical tests of production (or, very similarly and according to the present invention, of re-processing of fresh or soft cheeses close to their expiry date) confirmed a greater durability of the product obtained by the process, said durability being further confirmed by shelf life verifications performed by third accredited authorities.

In particular, from the experiment campaigns performed can be observed that the durability of the final compound/product is clearly higher than that of the fresh and/or soft cheese, while the structural, organoleptic, sensorial, gustatory and olfactory features remain stable for a period longer than <NUM> days.

Significantly, the qualitative results observed are also found applying criteria of the so-called "thermal stress" to the packaging of the dairy product/compound obtained according to the present method: in particular, it was applied to a product obtained starting from the processing of the "crescenza" soft cheese, an increase of the conservation temperature equal to <NUM> (therefore, the storage conditions at controlled temperature were performed at <NUM> instead of at the usually known and regulations-compliant temperature of <NUM>) and, despite the presence of said thermal stress, a durability longer than <NUM> days compared to a conventional durability of <NUM> days (at a temperature of +<NUM>) was detected for a "crescenza" dairy product prepared according to prior-art technologies.

To validate the method of the invention, as well as to verify the hypotheses about the chemical-physical phenomena implemented by said method, it should be noted that the essential parameter of analytical investigation is the above mentioned "(free-)water activity" or "activity water" (a parameter which can be usually referred to with the acronym "aW"), which indeed expresses water activity, on which almost all the processes of fermentation and enzymatic degradation of macro-nutrients of the food / product depend.

The above mentioned statement finds confirmation in an appropriate verification campaign in laboratory, commissioned to an external accredited authority (STUDIO F2 SRL, based in Piazza Morselli, <NUM><NUM> Castellucchio (MN) and having "Accredia number" <NUM>), and the verification campaign was in turn performed according to ISO <NUM>:<NUM> standard.

In said verification campaign, the aW of a blue-veined soft cheese with <NUM> days maturation and of a soft generic ("crescenza") table cheese with <NUM> days maturation were analyzed, developing two different tests in different working session, after which the aW of the acid coagulum of milk/cream added to the cheeses, and finally that of the final compounds obtained, were analyzed.

The different types of product/compound under analysis were sampled in <NUM> aliquots derived from the same "stock mass" of the same product or compound, to maximize the accuracy and the statistic reproducibility of the average analytical datum obtained, and moreover, as a countercheck, the aW of the cheeses to be re-processes was analyzed, after an analogous thermal process, but without the addition of acid coagulum (N. : it is therefore a so-called "blank" test), to assess the possible interference of heating and re-mixing on the parameter aW.

The analyses were performed on November <NUM>, <NUM>, while all samplings are performed by skilled personnel of the laboratory in charge, during a working session of November <NUM>, <NUM>: moreover, all aliquots of the sample, once collected, were immediately vacuum sealed in a plastic thermoshrinkable small bag, having perfect hermetic sealing, and were conserved in the refrigerator at +<NUM> until analysis.

The data collected by the experiment campaigns are summarized below in the following table:.

As evident in the above table, the data show a clear reduction of the aW value between the starting "pure" soft cheeses and the final compound obtained following the process according to the invention: note that the values detected for the final compound are also lower than those detected for the added acid coagulum, obtained from milk and cream.

Note also that an aW variation which at first glance appears minimal (from <NUM> to <NUM>, in the case of the blue-veined cheese) affects in an exponential and highly selective way the bacterial metabolism and enzymatic degradation.

The evidence of the collected analytical data validates therefore the efficacy of the method according to the invention, as well as the outcome resulting from the new chemical bonds which occur during the step of mixing the two components (soft/fresh cheese to re-process and acid coagulum), under the specific conditions and process parameters of the method described, and finally confirms that, as a countercheck, the thermal and re-mixing effect of the "blank" test performed on a single soft cheese has almost no effect on the parameter aW (which remains unvaried in both tests).

The method according to the invention, and therefore the dairy products/compounds which can be prepared by said method, obtain considerable advantages over the prior art.

First of all, it should be noted - as confirmed by the performed experiment campaign - the considerable increase of the shelf life period, which in some cases may triple: this reflects on a higher efficiency of the distribution chain (as both a possibility of transportation to greater distances from production sites and of residence time on the shelves in the points of sale) and on a resulting lower incidence of management costs for all subjects involved in the production chain, logistics and retail sale of said products.

Simultaneously, one should note the organoleptic, olfactory, and gustatory quality of the dairy products that can be prepared by the method of the invention, which are completely similar to the "pure" products (but are in the condition of being close to expiry for the final consumption) and are therefore completely comparable also in terms of retail price, perceived quality and satisfaction of the end customer (and of his/her consumption needs).

Claim 1:
Method of preparation of a dairy product, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:
• providing a quantity of fresh and/or soft cheese, said fresh and/or soft cheese having a standard shelf life between <NUM> days and <NUM> days, and being in a state of conservation close to expiry of said conservation period;
• providing a quantity of acid coagulum;
• mixing said quantities of fresh and/or soft cheese and acid coagulum, thereby obtaining a quantity of a re-processed dairy product; and
• eliminating an excess moisture from said quantity of fresh and/or soft cheese and/or from said quantity of acid coagulum and/or from said quantity of re-processed dairy product,
wherein:
(a) each of said fresh and/or soft cheese, acid coagulum and re-processed dairy product has a composite average fat content between <NUM>% and <NUM>% by weight and the respective composite average fat contents differ from each other by maximum <NUM>%,
(b) the acid coagulum is added to the fresh and/or soft cheese in a weight ratio lower than or equal to <NUM>:<NUM>, and
(c) the step of providing the acid coagulum comprises the sub-step of preparing a pasteurized mixture comprising whole and/or skimmed milk and cream, said pasteurized mixture preferably having an alkaline phosphatase value lower than <NUM> mU/l, and wherein it also includes one of the following sub-steps:
• inducing a lactic fermentation of said pasteurized mixture through inoculation of said pasteurized mixture with mesophilic and/or thermophilic lactic bacteria at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>, said inoculation leading to an acid coagulum having a pH between <NUM> and <NUM>; or
• adding lactic acid to said pasteurized mixture, said addition causing an acid coagulum having a pH between <NUM> and <NUM>.
and wherein said state close to expiry of the conservation period is calculated as T=P/<NUM>, where T is the time point from which the cheese can be used in the method and P is its standard shelf life measured at +<NUM>.