Category: Cheese & Dairy Products

Partnering to Drive Food Safety

Posted by Mathew J. Bartkowiak, Ph.D.  – Cheese & Dairy Products, Education, Food Safety, General
April 11, 2022

Nelson-Jameson is a proud member of the Innovation Center for US Dairy. The Center and its members have a common goal “to advance a shared social responsibility platform and demonstrate U.S. dairy’s collective commitment to provide the world responsibly produced dairy foods that nourish people, strengthen communities and foster a sustainable future.”

Nelson-Jameson and the Center have a combined passion for furthering food safety in our nation. Recently, the Center published a terrific food safety resource for the dairy industry that includes numerous Spanish language materials. Resources to take advantage of include: interactive training courses for artisan ice cream and cheesemakers, food safety plan writing assistance, training support, pathogen guidance documents, and much more. 

The document’s publication is a reflection of the partnerships between organizations like Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, the American Cheese Society, the North American Ice Cream Association, International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), and numerous other stakeholders to bring educational materials and information to the forefront. Food safety isn’t a competitive advantage…it’s our collective responsibility. Check out the document here and please feel free to share!

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Annatto: A Natural Color Solution

Posted by Marketing Dept.  – Cheese & Dairy Products, Education, General, Packaging & Ingredients
August 19, 2020

Have you heard the term Annatto before? You’re probably wondering if it’s a fun tropical island you can travel to, or maybe even an article of clothing you can wear, but really, it’s something that is more prevalent in your daily life than you had imagined.

Annatto is a type of food coloring made from the seeds of the achiote tree. It ranges from yellow to red-orange in hue, depending on the application and dosage rate, and is a staple in the food and beverage industry. It is also considered a staple in the dairy industry because it is stable, economical, and comes in a wide variety of forms, including powder, paste, liquid, and essential oils, making it applicable for use in almost any application. A unique fact about annatto is that although it is not well-known, an estimated 70% of natural food colors are derived from it. It also acts as a condiment used to enhance the flavor of dishes due to its slightly sweet and peppery taste.

Annatto also has many possible health benefits associated with it. Annatto contains various plant-based antioxidant properties that are designed to neutralize potentially harmful molecules. If these harmful molecule levels rise too high, they could damage your cells. This means that annatto can help lower your chances of developing a chronic condition such as cancer and heart disease. Research discovered that annatto also encompasses antimicrobial properties that aid in food preservation. This means that its purpose is to further extend the shelf-life for many food products, such as bread. A few other miscellaneous health benefits associated with annatto is that it may promote eye health, aid heart health, and may reduce inflammation in the body.

Overall, it appears that this natural color is generally safe for most individuals. Although still in the early stages of research, the biggest side effect discovered thus far with this seed/food coloring is allergies. This appears to be very minimal for something that has many health benefits associated with it. There still needs to be additional research done to verify if annatto could be a possible recommendation regarding human health reasons.

At Nelson-Jameson, we believe in promoting food safety and offering options that are best suited for company’s to utilize in their industry. That is why we currently offer various annatto color options that are designed to offer natural color solutions for cheese products.

Link to article: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/annatto#bottom-line

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Celebrating World Food Safety Day!

Posted by Mathew J. Bartkowiak, Ph.D.  – Cheese & Dairy Products, Education, Food Safety, General, Safety & Personnel
June 4, 2020

Food safety truly is a collective effort. From the farm to the table, ensuring food safety is a way we can reaffirm our investment in, and care of, those we are feeding. Whether you are helping in the harvest, producing and processing thousands of products a day, serving food at a local pub, or grilling for your family, food safety requires vigilance and care at all levels. Keeping this in mind, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, are recognizing all of those interconnecting players with World Food Safety Day on June 7th.   

The celebration of World Food Safety Day is meant “to draw attention and inspire action to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, contributing to food security, human health, economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, tourism and sustainable development.” When one considers how food plays into all of these areas, and reverberates across everyday life, food safety really does bind us all together.  

….and there is work to do. Though we are incredibly fortunate to have a robust and generally safe food supply, foodborne illness is a very real threat, demanding care and continued dedication. According to the WHO, “more than 600 million people fall ill and 420,000 die every year from eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, toxins or chemicals. As for the economic price tag, according to the World Bank, unsafe food costs low-and middle-income economies alone about US$ 95 billion in lost productivity annually.”  

At Nelson-Jameson, we are proud to recognize and celebrate World Food Safety Day. Our main goal is to help our customers produce the safest and best product they can.  Every product, service, and program we offer are all designed to contribute and build up cultures of food safety 365 days a year. We are committed to working with you and the vast array of stakeholders in ensuring a safe food supply…through teamwork we can take on the challenge and together celebrate the continued path towards food safety excellence around the world.   

 

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NCIMS Considers Another Proposal to Lower Somatic Cell Counts

Posted by Marketing Dept.  – Cheese & Dairy Products, Dairy Farm, Education, Food Safety, General, Laboratory & QA/QC
May 8, 2017

The National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) is scheduled to meet in May 12-17 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and will be considering a proposal for lowering the maximum allowable somatic cell count (SCC) in milk to 400,000 cells per milliliter. The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) has long been a proponent of lowering the SCC threshold to 400,000 cells/ml. The current threshold is 750,000 cells per milliliter. The European Union (EU) and other countries have adopted the 400,000 cell/ml standard, placing import bans on any dairy products sourced from farms with SCCs above that level.

SCC levels measure dead white blood cells in milk, an indication of mammary gland infections. Lower levels of somatic cells indicate higher quality milk. Some federal milk marketing orders have a 350,000 cells/ml threshold to determine milk quality premiums. Dairy processors believe that lower SCC thresholds impact cheese yield, taste and shelf life.

Nelson-Jameson offers several PortaCheck products to help dairy farmers monitor the SCC of individual cows in their herd. UdderCheck LDH Milk Test is an effective tool in monitoring udder health. It measures Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH), an enzyme present in milk when cells are damaged during an udder infection. LDH levels often rise earlier than somatic cell counts, making it an excellent marker for early detection of mastitis.

PortaCheck also offers two somatic cell count tests for on-farm detection of sub-clinical mastitis. The PortaSCC Milk Test is used with a color chart or digital reader. It has a 45 minute reaction time and numerical results are projected by the digital reader. The PortaSCC Quick Test is based on the same technology as the original test, but it has a faster reaction time of 5-6 minutes. It uses a test strip which is compared to a color chart to give a general level of SCC. Read more about these tests here, or check out the instructional video.

 

Back to School: All Year Long!

Posted by Marketing Dept.  – Cheese & Dairy Products, Education, Food Safety, General, Laboratory & QA/QC, Production & Material Handling, Safety & Personnel
September 1, 2016

Cherney

As a new school year starts in many parts of the country, we’re more than likely overdue for those “Back to School” banners to be taken down in the big box stores and be replaced with an onslaught of Halloween products and advertisements.   It was a good two months of active marketing, but now it’s time to move on, right?   Truthfully, “back to school” is a mindset that doesn’t know a season and doesn’t get pushed aside for fun-size candy bars (as wonderful as they may be).

“Back to school” could be seen as a life-long mantra of continuing education and professional development.   In the food industry, if it weren’t for continuing education and training, we would never be able to keep up with consumer, regulatory, food safety and quality demands.  That’s why Nelson-Jameson is continuing to work with Cherney College, part of Cherney Microbiological Services, to offer an array of courses targeted at food industry professionals.   Cherney College offers courses year-round, addressing topics from basic food safety all the way to advanced food microbiology and FSMA Preventive Controls.

Courses are held in Green Bay, WI; however, some courses and training sessions can actually be held right on site, at your facility, to save time and travel expenses for groups.

Thanks to our partnership, Nelson-Jameson customers get an exclusive 5% discount on all course offerings!   Use promo code “Nelson-Jameson” when signing up for any of the courses featured at “cherneymicro.com.”