Between a Roquefort and a hard place: How cheesemakers can adapt their facilities to navigate a challenging landscape

In early November, cheesemakers the world over travelled to the Welsh city of Newport for the 2022 World Cheese Awards. There, a record-breaking 4,400 entries from 42 different countries were tasted and titillated over by a multi-national conglomerate of 265 judges.

While there was much adulation for entrants, which saw a Swiss Gruyère crowned winner and two UK entrees ranking in the top 10, equal praise should be rained down upon the work that takes place behind the scenes.

Currently, the dairy industry is facing a difficult period. Sustainability and inflationary pressures, labour shortages and logistics complexities have together woven a web of challenges for creameries. Whilst external factors may be well out of the hands of cheesemakers, ensuring production and storage facilities are a haven for efficiency and productivity can provide much-needed sweetness to a sour situation.

The dairy industry contributes to approximately 3.4% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions – more than the 1.9% contributed by aviation. Of that figure, cheese is a large contributor. Understandably, there is a knowledge that the industry must also adapt to counteract those emissions. Amongst the most viable areas for improvement include waste and energy management, recyclable packaging, and renewable energy. For cheesemakers, most of those changes can be made under the roofs of production and storage facilities, and so these premises must be modernised and maintained to help counteract a tricky landscape.

Facility management

By reassessing factory and storage procedures and processes, factory managers can maintain that they are executed with ultimate efficiency. Carrying out expert assessments helps highlight where a facility is succeeding and pinpoint the most effective areas for improvement. These assessments can help streamline processes to minimise both energy and produce waste. With the UK’s food manufacturers currently amassing 1.5 million tonnes of food waste every year, even minor adjustments can create big results.

Maintaining or upgrading pumps can also yield positive results through fines reduction and moisture retention, as underperforming pumps can prove costly. Shear damage from lobe pumps can result in increased fines entering the whey stream, reducing yield. Pumps not running at capacity will also see a reduction in suction capabilities, causing cavitation. This can lead to breaks in pipe joints and welds, generating downtime-inducing maintenance works. Therefore, it is better for facility management practices to be proactive rather than reactive.

It’s hotting up

Another big issue for cheesemakers – and indeed manufacturers of any consumable goods – is the world’s rising temperatures. The UK has been getting progressively warmer since the 19th Century. In the past three decades alone, the UK has become 0.9C warmer and the Summer of 2022 saw record temperatures recorded.

For cold stores, higher temperatures mean higher outputs for temperature control. For ageing and neglected cold stores, the energy needed will be even greater still. Therefore, simple repairs and maintenance work can greatly contribute to a business as it seeks to cut down on its energy usage.

Since the optimum humidity and temperature for cheese during storage is so pivotal to the quality and taste of the produce, maintaining the performance of cold stores should be a high priority. Too low a humidity can result in a dried-out cheese, with the beneficial microbes inhibited from growing. Too much humidity, meanwhile, can encourage undesirable microbes to flourish and run the risk of ruining the produce. When the art of cheesemaking is such a delicate balance, processing and storage facilities and technologies must be on your side. It makes regular site maintenance paramount.

Green thinking

22% of people who switched to more expensive dairy brands in the past 12 months did so for sustainability reasons. It reflects changing buying habits and priorities in consumers. It also shows that a lack of green practices can see ever-loyal consumers opt for a different brand. Therefore, sustainability should be at the heart of all factory operations.

When improving production practices off the back of expert assessments, redefining your approach to packaging can further benefit business growth. With 64% of people limiting the amount of single-use plastic they buy, it’s important cheese packaging reflects modern, changing trends. Plastic alternatives in packaging are being greatly explored across several sectors and the dairy industry should be no different. The future of packaging is showing huge promise.

Furthermore, renewable energy like solar panels is ideal for factory roofs. By harnessing solar power, businesses can reduce their reliance on energy providers and the ever-rising costs of their services. Solar panels showcase a business to the world as forward-thinking and planet-conscious, potentially boosting sales whilst saving the business money long-term.

Don’t get left brie-hind

Investment in innovations is constantly poured into the dairy industry to help manufacturers in their processes. Therefore, cheesemakers can benefit from expert guidance to feedback on changing trends and new inventions to ensure that their modernised factory remains just that as time ticks on.

Ambrey Baker’s in-house team of experts have over 30 years of food construction experience to fulfil these effective factory assessments with invaluable accuracy and insight. They can also offer advice on new technologies which can offer a valuable return, ensuring that your premises are the best they can be. In a challenging landscape, you need your factory and its equipment firmly on your side.