by Rob Ralyea, Senior Extension Associate
June was quite the month for the world of cheese. If you missed it, we finally released the statement the Food & Drug Administration gave New York State of their policy on aging cheese on wood boards. The original statement was that this would not be allowed, however the FDA has since backed off and will allow cheese to be aged on wood boards. This controversy generated from a cheese maker who found herself in trouble with the fed’s. My goal as an extension associate in the cheese industry was to obtain correct information and make sure the industry has it as well. Needless to say, the industry and politicians reacted feverishly. If you did not get the whole story, this is a great write up: Click here . However, the woods are not clear of bears yet, which means we as an industry need to remain vigilant in maintaining not only the boards cheese is aged on, but cleanliness and maintenance of the entire plant. Which, is a great segue into my next topic…..
I have secured an agreement with Microbac in Cortland, NY, to give a reduced rate for environmental swabbing and analysis for artisan cheese makers in NY. The typical going rate is approximately $30/swab for a Listeria species analysis. If I can get enough participants and collectively get over 100 swabs, I can get that price down to $22/swab. Environmental sampling is coming.. I warned you in the PPS meetings this past spring that as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act and now the wood board issue, the FDA will be looking at environmental sampling and preventive controls. While I know it is an expense, it will benefit your company in the long run. If you want more information, would like to participate at the lower rate, or need help in formulating a plan for your plant, send me a note (rdr10@cornell.edu).
On a similar note, many small cheese makers have said to me that it is difficult for you to get cleaning chemicals from reputable companies in small volumes. I have also secured a list of chemicals from Diversey that are of high quality and are very potent for their specific use. You can purchase them in 5 gallon containers or 55 gallon drums (for the most part). A cheese plant can probably get away with a caustic detergent, an acid detergent and a sanitizer. To give you some idea of potency, the mixing ratio for the Divosan Plus sanitizer is 12 ml/gallon. So, to mix a 5 gallon bucket of sanitizer, you would need only 60 ml. If you are interested in any of this, feel free to contact Larry Bogdan.
Finally, plan ahead as our Basic and Advanced Cheese Making workshops are coming up. The Basic Cheese Making workshop is exactly that, and targets the science and art involved at the basic level. It is a prerequisite of the Advanced Workshop which is a detailed scientific journey of cheese microbiology, chemistry and production. The Advanced Workshop (for certificate purposes) has both a written and oral exam that you must pass to attain the Advanced Cheese Maker designation in our certificate program. The Basic Cheese Making Workshop is scheduled for October 28-29 and the Advanced Cheese Making Workshop is October 21-23, both in Ithaca at Cornell University. Contact Janene Lucia (jgg3@cornell.edu) for more information.
