Ingredients

Freshness Extended:
Longer Shelf-Life for Goat Cheese

P
oitiers, France is well-known for its local gastronomy including food
French goat’s cheese items such as lamb, wine, and goat cheese. And in France, where
maker successfully many local producers and artisanal cheese-makers depend on all natural
protects its product against methods for maintaining cheese shelf life, producers have been increasingly
bacteria with an oxygen turning to the use of oxygen absorbers to extend the shelf-life and freshness of
sorbents their products.
Le Père Bafien is one such producer. Originally a family business, Le Père
Bafien currently exports their products to countries as far away as Vietnam, in
addition to the United States and neighboring European countries. As the
cheese-maker has found, in a global economy, the ability to extend shelf-life
is important because it increases the time available for shipping and extends
the chain of distribution into new and far-reaching markets.
In order to maintain the freshness of goat cheese for extended periods, Le
Père Bafien uses oxygen absorbers from Multisorb Technologies LLC. The
removal of oxygen from cheese packaging serves to protect the product from
bacteria and other contaminants. The French producer packages its cheeses in
a variety of packaging materials and then ships them to both wholesalers and
retailers.

48 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA APRIL/MAY 2007

 Ingredients

Le Père Bafien therefore needed bread, and processed meats. The experiment with different thicknesses
a versatile, multi-purpose, and cost- sorbent is activated by moisture from to get the exact amounts of absorption
effective solution, which would suit the food product itself, which is in necessary.”
the packaging needs for its numerous contrast to FreshPax D blends that According to Plisson, for smaller
cheese varieties. Multisorb carry moisture and are used with drier producers, a cost-effective packaging
Technologies, provided the answer food products such as dried legumes, solution is key to remaining
with its FreshPax oxygen absorbers grains, and dried meats. Multisorb’s competitive both locally and
and assisted the cheese-maker with FreshPax B scavengers allow for internationally. With FreshPax
technical assistance, logistical longer handling times in the oxygen absorbers, the packaging
support, and packaging machinery to packaging process, but also begin to machinery that is used can be small
help defray excess costs. work within a few hours after the and relatively low-cost compared to
Says Fabien Plisson, Director and package is sealed. Both formulas those of larger, industrial producers,
Founder of Le Père allowing cheese-makers
Bafien, “We turned to like Le Père Bafien to keep
Multisorb and its sorbents packaging costs down,
because we were able to while maintaining
experiment with equivalent freshness and
numerous packaging line versatility in their
alternatives, ensuring a packaging components.
greater degree of The FreshPax B format
flexibility for our lends itself easily to hand
products. We have been insertion, which can be a
using oxygen absorbers to matter of course for
naturally extend the smaller producers. After
freshness of our products attaching the sorbent, the
for several years now. products are then sealed
Multisorb sorbents hermetically via a heat
provide us with multiple sealer.
options when packaging In this instance,
our cheeses.” Multisorb provided the
cheese-maker with the
A Discrete and heat sealer that encloses
Versatile Packaging the scavengers in an
Alternative impermeable pocket. This
Currently, Le Père technology, in comparison
Bafien distributes their to alternative technologies
goat cheese units such as modified
individually, in quantities of six or effectively reduce the oxygen inside atmosphere packaging (MAP), which
more units and also creates custom- a package to zero within 24 to 36 is used by large-scale producers, was
made packaging solutions for their hours. The lack of oxygen stops less expensive and is a more
end-users upon request. This is easily aerobic bacterial growth and other affordable alternative for the cheese-
accomplished with the use of oxygen induced chemical reactions. maker.
FreshPax B oxygen absorbers, a 4 cm Packaging flexibility coupled with “We feel it’s important to provide
x 3 cm scavenger packet, which is a lower cost-per-unit and the technical our customer with advice and support;
attached via an adhesive to the clear, service that Multisorb and its whether it’s in regard to cost
peelable lidding material that distributor provided, were among the minimization, technical, or delivery
encompasses the entire cheese key reasons for the switch to assistance. Our role is to facilitate the
product, and can be adjusted FreshPax. Says Plisson, “When we incorporation of the oxygen scavenger
accordingly (both in terms of first worked with Multisorb, we found with the existing product packaging
thickness and form) to suit desired that the FreshPax was easier to and in so doing, enhance the
packaging materials and sizes. incorporate into our existing appearance and taste as well,” said John
FreshPax B is designed to work packaging than those we had used Solomon, Market Leader, Specialty
with moist products such as cheese, previously, and we were able to Foods, of Multisorb Technologies.

FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA APRIL/MAY 2007 49

 Ingredients

stores across France, and finally to the

end-user. This increase in distribution
has allowed the cheese-maker to
diversify and improve its sales. Says
Plisson, “Overall, by extending the
freshness of our products, we have
also been able to enhance our
logistical flexibility.”

Investment in R & D
Multisorb’s efforts in the research
and development of newer varieties
of oxygen absorbers have
increasingly helped local producers
with their packaging needs by
offering improved and newer types of
sorbent technology. For example, in
the agro-food sector in France, the use
of oxygen absorbers in food products
Extending Freshness By Five we have been able to increase the currently extends to a wide variety of
For Le Père Bafien, a further shelf-life from eight to forty-five products including specialty foods
significant difference with the use of days, dramatically increasing our such as iced chestnuts, bread
FreshPax sorbents, has been the ability to provide consumers with a products, dietary supplements, and
extension of a previously short time fresher product over a longer time- even natural food coloring. Producers
period in which cheese products period,” states Plisson. point to the investment in research and
would become outdated and The extension in freshness has development of sorbents and a
susceptible to bacterial contamination. also allowed Le Père Bafien to sell company that listens to their needs.
Plisson says that by using oxygen its products overseas, expand its Says Plisson, “Multisorb’s
absorbers in their goat cheese, they distribution network, and stock technical assistance and service were
have been able to sell their products increased quantities of inventory. additional factors in our decision to
for longer periods of time at While originally doing business at a use FreshPax. By being able to adapt
equivalent levels of quality. This has retail level, selling to local green to our needs as producers and find
allowed them to reap a greater grocer markets; the cheese-maker solutions through innovative
financial return and sell their products now sells over half of its products at products, Multisorb has allowed us to
farther away. “With the use of the wholesale level. The wholesalers remain innovative as well.”
Multsorb FreshPax oxygen absorbers, then sell to supermarkets and grocery Enquiry No: 023

Packaging Artisanal Goat Cheese

The end product that includes FreshPax B is the final result of an extensive
production process, which is controlled under strict environmental
conditions. In fact, Le Père Bafien is a cheese ‘refiner’, which means that
all of their products arrive directly from dairy farmers in the form of curds,
which they then shape and stamp with the letters A.O.C. (Appellation
d’Origine Contrôlée), a strict measure in France whereby the end-user is
able to directly trace the origin of products upon time of purchase. Because
the goat cheese is ‘fresh’ when the curds are received, the cheese must be
protected immediately from bacteria and kept in a safe location. The steps
in the manufacture of goat cheese include draining and drying out the cheese,
followed by a maturation period, then cooling, and finally, packaging.

50 FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA APRIL/MAY 2007