A large-scale study of the "Russian" cheesen has been started up in Russia
Источник: The DairyNews
Russian quality system (Roskachestvo) has launched an All-Russian study of varieties of cheese "Russian". The samples of the 30 most popular brands will be exposed to consumer testing, reports The DairyNews with reference to the press service of Roskachestvo.
Purchases of cheese are held in retail chains throughout Russia. The study will include samples produced in Altai Krai, the Republics of Bashkortostan, Mordovia and Tatarstan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaliningrad, Kursk, Moscow, Pskov, Samara, Sverdlovsk regions, and also in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In the best accredited laboratories in the country the samples will be examined at 77 indicators of quality and safety, including the presence of mold, vegetable fats and antibiotics, as well as sensory indicators of the state standards of quality - flavor and consistency. An important vector of the research will be the identification of falsified products, the so-called cheese products, which are sold under the guise of natural cheese. Cheese production is an expensive process (for production of 1 kg of the product about 10 liters of milk is needed), and as a result, of course, one gets an expensive product. However, dishonest manufacturers can do various tricks that cheapen the production process. For example, replace milk fats with vegetable ones or reduce the level of fat.
"According to the terminology adopted in technical regulations "On safety of milk and dairy products", cheese is "a dairy product or a composite dairy product produced from milk, dairy products and (or) by-products of milk processing", while the cheese product is a "milk-containing product made according to the technology of cheese. In the production of cheese product, the regulations allow the replacement of milk fat for vegetable in the amount of not more than 50 %. With higher level of replacement even the word "cheese" cannot be used", - said Head of the Department of cheese making VNIIMS, candidate of technical Sciences Valentina Mordvinova.
Another common falsification of cheese is a decrease in the percentage of fat. Such violation Roskachestvo has already identified in the study of quality of mayonnaise and butter. So, mass fraction of fat in dry matter of cheese "Russian" set by the State standard is 50%. If it is mentioned on the packaging that the mass fraction of fat in dry matter 50 %, and in the course of the study it turns out that it is less, it is a clear violation of the production technology that may be economically advantageous to the manufacturer. And if the packaging indicates a smaller amount of fat this is not a classic "Russian" cheese and it is another product.
Roskachestvo is testing cheese samples for the presence of tetracycline antibiotics, Levomycetinum (chloramphenicol), antibiotics of the group of metronidazole and the group of the sulfonamides. "Antibiotics in micro doses can get into milk and from the milk in the course of the production of cheese into the starter, but it is not possible to make high-quality cheese of raw milk with antibiotics. Bacterial flora of this cheese because of the antibiotics will work incorrectly and will not allow it to mature. But with regular use of such poor quality, unripe cheese, with traces of antibiotics, people will lose sensitivity to them, and in case of illness they will not have a treating effect," - said the famous physician-nutritionist, doctor of medical Sciences Alexey Kovalkov.
Roskachestvo together with the expert community, leading research institutes, associations of the industry and major manufacturers have already developed a leading quality standard for potential candidates for the state Quality Mark. A high-quality product needs to be manufactured from natural raw materials and by the classical technology; it mustn’t contain artificial additives and substitutes.
The results of the national study will be published on the website of Roskachestvo by early summer. For the first time Roskachestvo will present not only the detailed results of the research, but also make the rating of each sample.
"Our colleagues from a number of similar to Roskachestvo institutions in Germany, Great Britain and the United States present research results to the public in the form of ratings assigning scores to each sample depending on the significance of each indicator. Thus, we can break up more serious violations, for example, in terms of security or falsification, from minor deficiencies, like a lack of complete information about the manufacturer on the label, and add greater value directly to the consumer characteristics of the product," - said Maria Sapuntsova, Deputy head of Roskachestvo.
For example, in the State standard organoleptic characteristics are assessed on a point system. In total there are 100 points, and each indicator corresponds to its maximum score (for example, almost half of the evaluation – 45 points – is awarded for taste and color). Based on total number of points cheese is assigned with a grade: 75-86 points – the first grade, 87-100 points – the superior. Cheese, scored less than 75 points or cheese that has less than 34 points in taste and smell is not suitable for sale and must be removed from sale.
Accredited testing laboratories have already passed the inter-laboratory proficiency testing, which allowed to identify the most accurate test centers in the category of dairy products. The qualifying round was attended by over 40 accredited test centers throughout Russia.
Read full article in Russian on DairyNews.ru
In the best accredited laboratories in the country the samples will be examined at 77 indicators of quality and safety, including the presence of mold, vegetable fats and antibiotics, as well as sensory indicators of the state standards of quality - flavor and consistency. An important vector of the research will be the identification of falsified products, the so-called cheese products, which are sold under the guise of natural cheese. Cheese production is an expensive process (for production of 1 kg of the product about 10 liters of milk is needed), and as a result, of course, one gets an expensive product. However, dishonest manufacturers can do various tricks that cheapen the production process. For example, replace milk fats with vegetable ones or reduce the level of fat.
"According to the terminology adopted in technical regulations "On safety of milk and dairy products", cheese is "a dairy product or a composite dairy product produced from milk, dairy products and (or) by-products of milk processing", while the cheese product is a "milk-containing product made according to the technology of cheese. In the production of cheese product, the regulations allow the replacement of milk fat for vegetable in the amount of not more than 50 %. With higher level of replacement even the word "cheese" cannot be used", - said Head of the Department of cheese making VNIIMS, candidate of technical Sciences Valentina Mordvinova.
Another common falsification of cheese is a decrease in the percentage of fat. Such violation Roskachestvo has already identified in the study of quality of mayonnaise and butter. So, mass fraction of fat in dry matter of cheese "Russian" set by the State standard is 50%. If it is mentioned on the packaging that the mass fraction of fat in dry matter 50 %, and in the course of the study it turns out that it is less, it is a clear violation of the production technology that may be economically advantageous to the manufacturer. And if the packaging indicates a smaller amount of fat this is not a classic "Russian" cheese and it is another product.
Roskachestvo is testing cheese samples for the presence of tetracycline antibiotics, Levomycetinum (chloramphenicol), antibiotics of the group of metronidazole and the group of the sulfonamides. "Antibiotics in micro doses can get into milk and from the milk in the course of the production of cheese into the starter, but it is not possible to make high-quality cheese of raw milk with antibiotics. Bacterial flora of this cheese because of the antibiotics will work incorrectly and will not allow it to mature. But with regular use of such poor quality, unripe cheese, with traces of antibiotics, people will lose sensitivity to them, and in case of illness they will not have a treating effect," - said the famous physician-nutritionist, doctor of medical Sciences Alexey Kovalkov.
Roskachestvo together with the expert community, leading research institutes, associations of the industry and major manufacturers have already developed a leading quality standard for potential candidates for the state Quality Mark. A high-quality product needs to be manufactured from natural raw materials and by the classical technology; it mustn’t contain artificial additives and substitutes.
The results of the national study will be published on the website of Roskachestvo by early summer. For the first time Roskachestvo will present not only the detailed results of the research, but also make the rating of each sample.
"Our colleagues from a number of similar to Roskachestvo institutions in Germany, Great Britain and the United States present research results to the public in the form of ratings assigning scores to each sample depending on the significance of each indicator. Thus, we can break up more serious violations, for example, in terms of security or falsification, from minor deficiencies, like a lack of complete information about the manufacturer on the label, and add greater value directly to the consumer characteristics of the product," - said Maria Sapuntsova, Deputy head of Roskachestvo.
For example, in the State standard organoleptic characteristics are assessed on a point system. In total there are 100 points, and each indicator corresponds to its maximum score (for example, almost half of the evaluation – 45 points – is awarded for taste and color). Based on total number of points cheese is assigned with a grade: 75-86 points – the first grade, 87-100 points – the superior. Cheese, scored less than 75 points or cheese that has less than 34 points in taste and smell is not suitable for sale and must be removed from sale.
Accredited testing laboratories have already passed the inter-laboratory proficiency testing, which allowed to identify the most accurate test centers in the category of dairy products. The qualifying round was attended by over 40 accredited test centers throughout Russia.
Read full article in Russian on DairyNews.ru
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