Safety & Quality Articles
Impact 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.
ViewRaw milk consumption continues to pose serious food safety risks
By John Lucey
Cheese Market News | April 2024
It’s very surprising to me that many states across the U.S. have, in recent years, passed legislation to allow for greater access and sales of raw fluid milk. Consumption of raw fluid milk is a food safety risk due to routine (unintended) contamination of milk with pathogens that are commonplace in the farm environment.
ViewCauses of microbiological defects in cheese
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods Magazine | October 2023
Cheesemakers are constantly striving to make high-quality cheese by avoiding the occurrence of any unwanted attributes or defects. There are many causes of defects in cheese and I will focus on those that are directly related to microbiological issues. We can broadly separate the source of this contamination into those occurring on the farm or at the cheese plant.
ViewSustainable Innovations in cheese packaging
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods | April 2023
Packaging is essential to maintaining and protecting the quality of the cheese product as well as attracting the eye of consumers. There are some interesting innovations in the food packaging industry. We are also facing challenges and questions like how can we produce packaging that is recyclable and/or biodegradable?
ViewHispanic cheeses present opportunities, challenges
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods | April 2021
Production and consumption of Hispanic cheeses have grown significantly in the United States. In 2019, the United States manufactured about 333 million pounds of Hispanic cheeses versus only 206 million pounds in 2009. Between 2009 and 2019, U.S. per-capita consumption of Hispanic cheeses nearly doubled.
ViewFend off bacteriophage in cheese plants
By John Lucey
Dairy Foods | January 2021
Cheese is a “living” food due to the presence of different types of bacteria and sometimes yeast and mold, depending on the cheese variety. Like any other living thing, the bacteria used in cheese can get sick.
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