'Protein Water,' New Cheeses Part of WMMB Meeting

By Ron Johnson, Dairy Editor
Thursday, February 1, 2007 6:10 PM CST

Protein water? Yep.

That was just one of six new products directors of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) got to sample during their meeting last week in Madison. As part of the WMMB's twice-yearly business review, in which the organization's promotions and other activities area scrutinized, the Center for Dairy Research (CDR) brought in the protein water, along with five cheeses.

WMMB is contributing $1.658 million to the center this fiscal year. The rest of the CDR budget comes from Dairy Management, Inc., the State of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin dairy processors. In all, the CDR has an annual budget of approximately $3 million, according to WMMB.

WMMB vice president of technical services Matt Mathison pointed out that the protein water, officially called "Kellogg's Special K2O Protein Water," does contain a dairy ingredient. It has five grams of a whey isolate, and the whey is from Wisconsin.

A CDR fact sheet states, "Wanting to build on the healthy image of its Special K cereal, Kellogg's researched various beverage options. Having not worked with dairy ingredients in the past, CDR provided Kellogg's with nutrition and technical information on the value of using dairy and whey proteins. Staff also conducted an on-site training seminar to educate Kellogg's staff on the functionality of whey proteins in beverages and helped Kellogg's find ingredient suppliers."

Kellogg's markets three flavors of its protein water. Strawberry kiwi, lemon twist and tropical blend began appearing in convenience stores last September. They're also reportedly available in the bottled water aisle or near the weight management drinks in Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens and other stores.

Blue cheese spread

Another sample the CDR had at the meeting for WMMB directors and staff to sample is a processed blue cheese spread. It's a product that is not being commercially made in the United States.

"This is an extremely confidential trial with a Wisconsin-based manufacturer looking at making a processed cheese spread similar to cold-pack cheese," according to the CDR fact sheet. "Cold-pack blue is difficult to manufacture, as no heating is used. Therefore, the Penicillum roqueforti (blue mold) will grow once the lid is opened, forming a layer of mold on the top. This would not be visually appealing to the consumer."

That problem is avoided by making cold-pack blue cheese spread with heat and processing salts, says the CDR. The spread has the mouth feel and flavor of a cold-pack spread, along with a longer shelf-life.

Mathison explained why no one in the United States makes a cold-pack blue cheese spread. It's because they don't want to introduce blue mold into their facilities. The mold could escape and infect all the plant's cheeses. But, he added, if a plant already makes blue cheese, there's no problem.

It's hoped that this cold-pack blue cheese spread can replace some of the blue cheese spreads that are imported from France.

Shreddable cheeses

The Center for Dairy Research is also working on developing a pair of shreddable cheeses - Parmesan and Romano. Both cheeses will be aged six to eight months, when they will be shredded and become part of a three-cheese base.

"A Wisconsin manufacturing plant is working with a Chicago-area marketer, the CDR and a cheese culture supplier to develop desired flavor attributes," according to the CDR. "The unique thing about this special product is that it would displace hundreds of thousands of pounds of imported Parmesan or hard, grated cheese per year."

Omega-3, probiotic

The Center for Dairy Research is also working on another pair of specialty cheeses. One contains omega-3 fatty acids and the other one is a probiotic cheese.

"We are working with Wisconsin-based manufacturers and marketers to manufacture omega-3-enriched cheddar cheese," according to the CDR. "What is unique is (that) cheese does not have the typical 'fishy' notes associated with omega-3."

A study on the shelf life of cheese containing omega-3 fatty acids is underway. And WMMB staff have been fielding inquiries from California about finding a cheese company in Wisconsin to make these cheeses.

On cheeses made with probiotic bacteria cultures, the CDR is also working with manufacturers and marketers based in Wisconsin. Several types of "good" bacteria are being investigated for their ability to survive in cheese. They include Lactobacillus casei, Acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium.

Why place probiotic cultures in cheese? Mathison explained to the WMMB, "It looks like cheese is a better delivery system" than yogurt.

Orbeseal defects

Another CDR project is to keep what's called "black spot defect" from appearing in cheese. It's a problem some cheesemakers noticed appearing in their aged cheddar. They asked the CDR and the University of Wisconsin to investigate.

They concluded that the black spots contain bismuth. That bismuth is linked to the teat-end sealant Orbeseal, made by Pfizer Animal Health.

"Although an effective, popular udder health product, it can be difficult to remove from the udder once the cow freshens, and also difficult to clean from equipment," explains the CDR. "Work has been done with the manufacturer of Orbeseal to address the problem, as well as field rep and dairy producer education."

More 'masters'

WMMB directors were also told that 2007 will see two new "master" cheesemakers certified, along with two returning masters.

For 2009, four new candidates and four returning master cheesemakers have been accepted. All told, Wisconsin now has 45 active master cheesemakers. They represent 30 cheese companies and are certified as the best in the business at making 30 cheese varieties.

More cheese made

Wisconsin's cheese production has climbed by almost a billion pounds since 1981, WMMB directors were told. While the increase has not been steady throughout the period from 1981 to 2006, it has been steady since 2001.

In 1981 Wisconsin cheese factories made 1.6 billion pounds of cheese. By 1991 that had climbed to 2 billion pounds, and as of 2006 it had risen to 2.4 billion pounds.

Wisconsin still leads all other states in cheese production, but California continues to close the gap. California is at the two billion-pound mark, up from slightly more than one billion pounds of cheese 10 years ago.

As a whole, the U.S. made 9.5 billion pounds of cheese in 2006. That's up from 7.2 billion pounds 10 years ago, and up from 5.2 billion pounds 20 years ago.

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