The Russian biofabric is developing new concentrated starters to accelerate ripening and diversify cheeses.

At the Experimental Biofabric of the Russian Scientific Research Institute of Oilseeds and Dairy Products of the Federal Research Center for Food Systems named after V.M. Gorbatov, specialists are advancing the development of two new concentrated mesophilic lactic acid bacteria starter cultures for direct addition to accelerate the ripening process and diversify the taste characteristics of cheeses.

Currently, such starter cultures in cheese making are called ripening cultures. An experimental batch has been developed, which is planned to be tested in experimental and industrial conditions. By mid-next year, in 2025, the biofabric plans to release its new product to the market of bacterial cultures.

Employees of the Experimental Biofabric, founded at the Russian Scientific Research Institute of Oilseeds and Dairy Products in 1940, in addition to producing bacterial cultures, solve numerous problems related to cheese making in Russia.

For example, in the 1950s, when the bacteriophage problem acquired a nationwide scale, it was the microbiologists of the biofabric who developed a method for determining the cultures' resistance to phages and a system for selecting these cultures for the composition of starters. After obtaining these results, the director of the biofabric, A.I. Manenkova, convinced the leadership of the USSR Ministry of Meat and Dairy Industry of the need to create starter rooms at cheese factories across the country and insisted on involving microbiologists and workers in the preparation of starters. Concentrated cheese starters were developed as early as 1969, but their implementation was hindered by the insufficient capacity of the workshop.