U.S. Cheese Industry Quality and Safety Initiatives

Also established in 2018, the Dairy Food Safety Alliance is a collaboration of the CDR, the DFW, and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. “Through the Alliance, we focus on regulatory activities that are tied to food safety,” Brock says. “We host meetings on an annual basis around the state that provide opportunities for industry stakeholders to discuss food safety issues with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). Related to the Alliance, DFW participates with DATCP and other Wisconsin dairy industry partners as members of the state’s Dairy Rules Advisory Committee.”

Brock recently partnered with the American Cheese Society and other cheese industry stakeholders to develop a webinar focusing on food safety culture. The webinar debuted in September 2020. “The Wisconsin cheese industry is a leader in food safety and quality from farm to fork,” Brock says. “We have a unique collaborative spirit in Wisconsin, featuring an excellent working relationship with our industry partners and our regulatory agencies.”

Listeria Concerns

Listeria control is a major issue relative to cheese safety, according to Catherine Donnelly, PhD, a professor of nutrition and food sciences at the University of Vermont in Burlington. “It is well documented scientifically that aggressive environmental testing and monitoring are key to achieving this control,” she says. “Cheesemakers need to identify and eliminate niches of Listeria that may be constantly introduced into the cheesemaking environment. We know this is a problem for cheesemakers large and small.”

In 2010 and 2011, FDA conducted environmental surveillance of 154 cheese plants in 27 states, including both artisan and industrial producers. “Thirty-one percent had positive environmental findings, confirming the widespread presence of Listeria in processing plants,” Dr. Donnelly notes.

She contends that there are conflicting Listeria-related regulatory issues that create challenges for U.S. cheese makers. In her opinion, there is a need for regulatory policy that helps incentivize cheese makers with respect to testing dairy environments to facilitate Listeria control. “FDA’s revised 2017 draft Listeria guidance is a step in the right direction, but there is a further need for consideration of alternative approaches to FDA’s zero tolerance policy for low risk foods that do not support Listeria growth,” Dr. Donnelly says.

“FDA’s approach to inspections under the Food Safety and Modernization Act is viewed as punitive by many dairy processors, as positive environmental findings for Listeria in plants trigger recalls in some cases and injunctions in others,” Dr. Donnelly says. “FDA has considered both the pathogen L. monocytogenes as well as the non-pathogenic L. innocua adulterants, whose presence indicates that cheeses have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions.”

In contrast, Dr. Donnelly says, USDA’s policies encourage aggressive environmental testing to protect post-lethality-exposed ready-to-eat meats and poultry products. Additionally, USDA considers products adulterated only when the pathogenic L. monocytogenes (and not L. innocua) is found on a food contact surface or in a product. “Having consistent, science-based, and harmonized Listeria regulations between FDA and USDA would be extremely helpful for cheesemakers and would do much to advance food safety,” Dr. Donnelly suggests. Aside from that, globally harmonized cheese regulations that are science-based and focused on promoting safety are needed, she advises.

Research Needs

There is a need for research on new cheese cultures, Dr. Donnelly says. “Cheese is not, nor ever will be, a sterile food product, and we have so much to learn about the microbial communities that comprise cheeses,” she explains. “It would also be useful to know what health benefits might be associated with these microbial communities.”

“Previous research has revealed the complexities of the microbial consortia of cheese rinds, yet few, if any, of the more than 30 genera comprising these microbial communities have been fully characterized, and the role of some of these newly identified microbes is poorly understood,” Dr. Donnelly says. “We have so much to learn, particularly in the context of how these organisms interact with the human gut microbiome. From my perspective, there has never been a better time for cheese research than now.”

Raw Milk Cheese

To pasteurize or not to pasteurize: This debate is an ongoing focus of heated discussions about cheese and food safety, according to Moshe Rosenberg, DSc, professor and specialist of dairy science and engineering in the department of food science and technology at the University of California, Davis. “Some wonder why it is important to manufacture raw milk cheese,” Dr. Rosenberg says. “Maybe it’s not. Those who consume raw milk cheese want to indulge in specific flavor notes. It’s possible to use secondary and adjunct starter cultures for introducing specific flavor notes of raw milk cheese into pasteurized milk.”

Promising Technologies and Tools

Dr. Rosenberg highlights innovations he believes have potential to revolutionize U.S. cheesemaking. For starters, fully mechanized cheesemaking systems are commonly used; however, automated cheesemaking platforms have yet to be developed, he says. “Introducing automation requires developing a new generation of in-line probes and cheesemaking-specific artificial intelligence that can make decisions,” he adds. “Such systems will continuously assess and quantify the multitude of parameters that govern the transformation of milk into curd of desired properties and optimize the process ‘on the fly.’ Such systems will improve cheesemaking yield, minimize batch-to-batch variations, and will allow better controlling [of] the development of desired cheese quality attributes.”