SZEGA CHEESE COLLEGE

19. October, 2019.

CHEESE FESTIVAL OF NATIONS

Professional Cheese Manufacturing Know-how

The SZEGA FOODS team is organising an educational programme for cheese-makers and cheese enthusiasts. In compiling the presentations, we strove to provide the theoretical background for the more important practical issues of manufacturing. Our French and Hungarian guest presenters are well-known and well-recognised professionals who are also experienced in terms of practice. We intend to make the presentations interactive, which means that our presenters will gladly answer any questions.

The fee for participation is HUF 50,000/person, which also includes entry to the SECOND CHEESE FESTIVAL OF NATIONS event.

The number of attendees is limited, applications for attendance are granted on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please register with this application form (LINK).

THE CORRECT PROCESS OF CHEESE MANUFACTURING AND TECHNOLOGICAL AND HYGIENE-RELATED COMPLIANCE

Mrs. Gyula Márkus – Food industry engineer and specialist dairy industry instructor

In this panel, we will present the process of developing a type of cheese from the stage of creating the recipe, including the related requirements for documentation. We deal with a variety of topics, including product sheets, monitoring, the preparation of labels and mandatory texts, the correct calculation of cost price and hygiene-related compliance, right through to final product. One important element of the panel will be to show the most important hygiene-related requirements of manufacturing in practice. We will explain in detail the most frequent problems related to hygiene.

The technology of cheese-making; implementation of action constituting the cheese-making process with regard to the type of the cheese that is to be produced. Relation between the mistakes that may arise during the targeted implementation of this action and the quality of the final product.

TRAPPIST CHEESE, AND THE PRINCIPLES, MACHINERY AND EQUIPMENT INVOLVED IN ITS MANUFACTURE

M. Gábor Bognár – specialist dairy industry engineer

Trappist is the cheese manufactured and consumed in the greatest quantity in Hungary. Because of this, it is also known as the “cheese of the Hungarians”. Sadly, this cheese is practically unknown outside Hungary, even though it deserves greater recognition. Its quality is also way below its potential, as well as the expectations of consumers. It is not that much of an exaggeration to say that its quality varies according to each and every manufacturer.

This is a product associated with a strict legal definition which could even be furnished with a distinguishing mark if manufactured correctly, but manufacturers have not exploited this potential. This is despite the fact that a good Trappist cheese could generate better business opportunities for producers, be they small or large. For this, we need to know its history, legal background, the principles of manufacturing technology aligned with the size of the production facility, and the machinery and equipment used in it.

EXPERIENCES WITH AUTHORITY INSPECTIONS AT SMALL DAIRY PRODUCT MANUFACTURERS

Dr. Ferenc Helik – National Food Chain Safety Office (“NÉBIH”), Vice-President for Food Chain Safety and Inspection

The production of dairy products, and thus also cheeses, is an important aspect of food chain safety and the related legal compliance. During the presentation, you will learn about the legal environment related to dairy production by small producers. You will get to know the criteria employed by authority inspections and the process of inspections. We will show you the most frequent irregularities. We will answer the question “What can a producer do?” and show the importance of good hygiene-related practice, as well as the basics of the monitoring system.

CHEESE AS A FUNCTIONAL FOOD, FOOD COUNTERFEITING IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY

Prof. Dr. János Csapó – Doctor of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, university professor, certified chemist, certified livestock breeding engineer

Why are milk, dairy products and cheeses considered functional foods?

Functional foods contain a sufficient amount of components that affect life functions positively, help prevent illness, have a health-protecting effect, and are beneficial for the human body as a whole. In this presentation, we will examine why cheeses can be considered functional foods, and what the consequences of this are for consumers.

The counterfeiting of milk, dairy products and cheeses, and methods for detecting counterfeiting

High quality milks and dairy products are free of contamination, antibiotics, unpleasant odours and taste and pathogenic microorganisms, have a low somatic cell count and total plate count, have not been diluted with water, have not had fat removed from them, have not been mixed with any other substances, and have a good scent, a taste characteristic of milk, and a composition that is in accordance with that of regular milk. As milk is a relatively expensive and sought-after food, milk counterfeiting is still an issue – in many places, it is daily practice to mask dilution with water by adding salt, and sometimes to add edible oils to milk in order to increase its fat content. The highly expensive types of cheese prepared from milk are counterfeited in significant quantities. Wisconsin cheeses have been counterfeited using cheap fats, and there are still attempts at counterfeiting cheeses of excellent quality – those that are highly sought-after and very expensive –, even though the quality of such counterfeit products does not even come close to that of the originals. In our presentation, we will talk about the counterfeiting of milks from various animal species, as well as of breast milk, soy milk in cow milk, the detection of whey and buttermilk, the watering of milk and its detection, the identification of the heat treatment of milk and dairy products, as well as the measurement of the amount of milk from inflamed udders and spoilt milk that is considered inappropriate for consumption.

THE SCIENCE AND ART OF CHEESE MATURATION

Denis HALLE – French cheese technology expert and product developer, and Quality Assurance Manager of the CF&R Vire cheese factory

Maturation is an area of cheese production that is of exceptional importance. The final texture of cheese develops during maturation, and we can adjust its taste at this stage too. The maturation of cheese is a biochemical process, in the course of which sweet, soft curdled milk transforms into a wide variety of gastronomic treasures. Salt is absorbed by curd, and rind becomes more solid. The taste, colour and texture of cheese also changes at a steady rate.

The presentation is designed to touch upon the following topics:

the biochemical process of maturation
the chemistry of the foundation of maturation
materials necessary for maturation
the external conditions of maturation
development of constituents during maturation
development of maturation technology, potential mechanisms for speeding up the maturation process
useful microorganisms related to maturation
characteristics of microbiological interaction
the maturation environment for various cheese types (matured mild cheeses: Camembert, cheeses with a washed rind: Pont l’Evêque, blue-veined cheeses: Roquefort, hard cheeses (without cooking): Cheddar, hard cheeses (with cooking): Emmental, Comte

CHEESE MATURATION THROUGH THE EYES OF A TRADER AND THE EXPERT TASTING

M. Ádám Gábossy– and the presenters

The aim of cheese manufacturing is, first and foremost, to get the cheese to consumers, i.e. the marketing process. A similar system of criteria applies both to direct sale by the manufacturer and indirect sale through a wholesaler. During this panel, we would like to present the most important criteria and requirements posed towards manufacturers by today’s cheese market. In addition, we will talk about the process of professional cheese assessment and tasting in practice with the Hungarian cheeses nominated for the 6th Cheese Competition of Nations, of which screening for perceptible defects in the cheese is an important part.