Shaping the future of cheese: A day in the life of our Innovation Director

When you sit down to enjoy a slice of soft, creamy, firm, or crumbly cheese, it’s easy to forget the precision and creativity that goes into every bite. But behind the scenes, teams of scientists are working daily on cutting-edge innovation to make cheese even more delicious, nutritious, and sustainable. At dsm-firmenich, these teams are led by Vicky Sereti, our Innovation Director for Cheese.

Over Vicky’s 15-year journey at dsm-firmenich, she’s worked on a diverse range of new technologies and product development initiatives across the company, as well as many external collaborations. These experiences allow her to look at cheese innovation challenges from every angle.

Multiple ingredients, multiple experts

To create truly delicious cheese, you need specialized ingredients, from bacterial cultures to membrane ripening solutions. dsm-firmenich offers solutions across the full cheese innovation spectrum.

“I’m really proud of how comprehensive our portfolio is, and I love the diversity it brings to my role,” says Vicky. “I get to collaborate with a wide range of passionate people, from scientists to regulatory experts. Colleagues across TTH all contribute to getting superior cheese to the consumer.”

“Colleagues across TTH all contribute to getting superior cheese to the consumer.”

Staying focused on the customer – and up to date on new technologies

With so many innovation opportunities, it’s critical to focus – and Vicky is crystal-clear on the principles she uses to prioritize.

“First of all, we want to bring our customers the best products on the market, in terms of performance, affordability, and sustainability. We always ask ourselves not just how a solution will impact the production stage, but how it will affect the cheese months into its shelf-life.”

Secondly, Vicky aims to maintain the premium quality of these solutions by adapting them to technological changes. “We work closely with developers to research genetics, strains for new enzymes, or how machine learning and AI can open new ways of working and help us to support cheesemakers with new solutions, faster.”

Thirdly, being prepared to address emerging cheese trends is very important to Vicky. “Together with our sales teams, we like to stay connected with potential partners even if an opportunity isn’t there yet, because it may well present itself in future.”

For instance, Vicky’s teams recently collaborated with a small company to develop the portable Delvo®Gel measurement device, which makes it easier and quicker to optimize coagulation speed. “Even if an innovation can’t be applied right now, we lay the groundwork for a future solution.”

“We always ask ourselves not just how a solution will impact the production stage, but how it will affect the cheese months into its shelf-life.”

Dairy Safe™: Taking protective cultures to the next level

One example of how Vicky’s teams have refined an existing solution is Dairy Safe™, which offers assured bioprotection against microorganisms that can cause spoilage in cheese, for instance, through late blowing (formation of unwanted gas bubbles), or slits and cracks. This, in turn, can lead to waste and lost profit. Dairy Safe™ cultures are a crucial means of protection against these harmful bacteria – and can also support faster acidification.

“What makes Dairy Safe™ unique is that it protects without the need for additives like nitrate or lysozyme, which can be allergens,” explains Vicky. “This not only makes it safer for consumers, but also simplifies ingredient lists, offering the label-friendly attributes shoppers are increasingly looking for.”

Now, our genetics and application teams have worked together to develop a new Dairy Safe™ culture range with next-level performance. Specifically, further enhanced phage robustness and greater temperature performance to improve effectiveness at higher scalding temperatures, expanding the application range from semi-hard to hard cheese. Extensive application testing shows similar performance across different rotations. In this way, we can ensure that we always select the best cultures.

Another example is our Maxiren® EVO coagulant enzyme. This enzyme plays a highly important role in cheese texture, bringing curds together and breaking down protein.

“The balance must be just right,” says Vicky. “Enzymes play a critical role in contributing to an appealing taste and texture in cheese. Maxiren® enzymes target a specific casein protein (alpha s-1), breaking it down in a controlled way that also enhances flavor.”

Maxiren® EVO is the new generation of these enzymes. Specifically designed for pre-acidified milk, in applications such as mozzarella production, this advanced enzyme increases moisture retention, improves processability throughout its shelf life – enabling earlier slicing and shredding – and ensures evenly distributed browning when on pizza.

“From the start, our Innovation, R&D and Application teams worked hand in hand to develop Maxiren® EVO,” says Vicky. “Together, we then selected the best candidates to create a superior end-product.”

Looking ahead: Mastering phage management

Vicky and the innovation and R&D teams are planning to continue working on new coagulant innovations – but an equally high priority is phage management.

Phages are viruses that infect lactic acid bacteria. They can disrupt cheese fermentation and even cause entire batches to fail. As such, supporting customers with phage management is a continuous focus for dsm-firmenich.

“Our experts identify new phages from customer samples using Delvo®Analytics, allowing us to adapt our solutions accordingly,” explains Vicky. “Customers can also identify phages themselves using the Delvo®Phage Test Kit. Uniquely, this provides results within an hour. And we’re always looking for new ways to tackle this persistent challenge.”

“We’re always looking for new ways to tackle the persistent challenge of phage management.”

True innovation happens together, with our customers

But for Vicky, her role is about more than solving technical problems. “What I enjoy most is working in multidisciplinary teams, creating solutions that are better for customers and the planet with the latest technology,” she says.

The biggest challenge? “There’s so much to explore, so staying focused and aligned is essential. But one thing is for sure: our scientists and application experts are devoted to delivering new innovations – always with our customers’ needs top of mind.”

“Our scientists and application experts are devoted to delivering new innovations – always with our customers’ needs top of mind.”