5. Quality control
5.1 Raw materials
These checks must be carried out as soon as the raw materials arrive at the production site.
-
Physico-chemical: pH, dry extract and fat content.
It is also advisable to carry out an analysis of relative casein content, particularly for mature cheeses (percentage of nitrogen precipitated by potassium alum), and to check for the absence of contaminants.
Organoleptic: external and internal appearance, texture, color and flavor.
Bacteriological plan: estimation of the initial microbial load in total and spore germs.
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
This article is included in
Food industry
This offer includes:
Knowledge Base
Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees
Services
A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources
Practical Path
Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills
Doc & Quiz
Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading
Quality control
Economic data
Production of processed cheeses increases slightly each year, making France the European Union's second-largest producer, behind Germany, with over 25% of the European total. Tonnage manufactured totaled 129,133 t in 2004. French production has expanded in recent years, mainly thanks to the manufacture of intermediate food products to replace traditional ripened cheeses. The latter do not always have good culinary qualities,...
Bibliography
Regulations
Extracts from decree no. 88-1206, published in the Journal officiel of December 30, 1988:
"Article 4: The name "processed cheese" is reserved for the product of the melting of cheese or a mixture of cheeses, possibly with the addition of other dairy products, with a minimum dry matter content of 43 grams per 100 grams of finished product, and a minimum fat content of 40 grams per 100 grams of product...
Organizations
Chambre syndicale française des industriels fondeurs de fromage (SYNDIFONTE) (French union of industrial cheese makers) http://www.cniel.com/QuiFait/Syndicat/SYNDIFON/syndifo.html
Website
La Maison du Lait http://www.maison-du-lait.com
Main producers and manufacturers
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
