Technical Articles
What are protective cultures and other bio-preservative approaches?
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods Magazine | April 2025
Protective cultures are an emerging and growing area in the food industry, including for use in dairy products. Among other benefits, they can help reduce food waste and spoilage. In yogurt and cheese applications, we use starter cultures to produce lactic acid. However, protective cultures aren’t added to produce acid and help with the fermentation; they instead can provide some degree of protection against pathogens and spoilage organisms.
ViewRaw milk is having a moment
By John Lucey
Cheese Market News | April 2025
I have written before about the risks of raw milk consumption but, due to rumors of a change in federal regulations by the current administration that would greatly expand the sale of raw milk, I want to dig even deeper into some of the false claims being used to promote the consumption of raw milk.
ViewImpact of the avian flu outbreak in cattle for dairy processing
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods Magazine | January 2025
Early last Spring, some dairy cows, initially in Texas, started to get ill. The cows’ symptoms included dehydration and increased temperature. They also stopped ruminating and their milk production plummeted. Farmers didn’t know the cause of the illness. Then, cats on these farms began to get ill and/or die after drinking raw milk from these cows. Testing on these cats confirmed that they had a strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1. It was a major surprise that this virus had jumped to cattle, and how this occurred is unknown. We do know that this virus is in migratory wildfowl.
ViewBandaged cheeses: Dairy industry embraces return of these traditional and flavorful cheeses
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods Magazine | October 2024
Cheesemakers didn’t always have access to plastic packaging materials. It wasn’t until after World War II that plastic packaging became popular in the dairy industry. So, what did cheesemakers do before that?
ViewHow much dairy should we consume?
By John Lucey
Cheese Market News | September 2024
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal asked this question, “How much cheese should you eat?” This certainly isn’t the first article to question the role of dairy in a healthy lifestyle.
ViewIngredient and product innovation in the dairy industry
By Sonali Raghunath, Pratishtha Verma
Dairy Foods | August 2024
Consumer preferences have had a major influence on the development of new products as they are willing to pay for the value of their food. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, foods that promote immunity and healthy aging have also become increasingly popular among consumers. As a result, the focus shifted to innovating new products that enhance value by providing nutrition and other healthy ingredients. Additionally, there has been an ongoing trend of sustainable products showing the need for green consumption practices across generations and the growing awareness of environmental issues.
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