Today's Cheese Technology: Things To Know Before You Buy

Whether catering to the restaurant and hospitality industry or selling directly to consumers, cheese and whey operations are powering ahead at full capacity with production lines offering a variety of packaged cheese and cheese products for consumption. In 2013, Americans consumed 33.7 lbs per capita of cheese that consisted of Italian, Cheddar, Swiss and other varieties. Cheese and dairy companies produced over 3 billion pounds of cheese in 2013 for the United States and countries around the world.

Keeping up production lines to meet demand while lowering your waste and overhead costs requires a comprehensive analysis of packaging capabilities. Internal auditing must focus on both quality assurance and smart investments in packaging innovations that can bring the freshest products to end users regardless of how the items are shipped.

Cheese Packaging Innovations Expanding to Offer Better Reliability and Efficiency

It is easy to get into a rut with cheese packaging processes. What has worked in the past for countless years has become the trusted go-to option with little variation in procedures. Yet cheese packaging technologies have kept pace with the growing needs of processors and packagers to offer a wide range of equipment tailored to your specific needs. Super-fast vertical form fill and seal packaging machines in both intermittent and continuous motion are just some of the technologies and innovations available in cheese packaging. VFFS machinery can be of immense benefit to operations while still built with federal and state-specific sanitary specifications to ensure the utmost packaging quality without the risk of contaminating cheese products.

Such cheese innovations are not being kept secret. Over 3,000 industry leaders and suppliers are featuring their new technologies to the cheese suppliers and processors at annual events such as the 2016 International Cheese Technology Expo. Such a wide gathering of global companies allows for businesses to learn more about the innovations that are constantly improving this dynamic industry.

Things to Know Before You Buy

Before you invest in new packaging equipment, you should have a comprehensive assessment of current production processes to determine what technologies would work best with existing operating systems. Every business is different when offering bagged, grated and shredded cheese products that require a specific packaging sequence. You may need specific equipment that can be used in dusty or wet environments that will maintain efficiency without compromising the quality of your products.

In addition, a packaging assessment will allow you to select the right equipment that will work with existing machinery already present in your business. You must ensure this packaging equipment will easily integrate with cartoners, combination scales and other ancillary equipment for the best flow of operations. Once the type of equipment has been identified, you will then have an easier time investing in these technologies designed to eliminate waste, increase productivity and be cost-effective for operations now and in the future.

Find out how your packaging processes can be improved with an assessment conducted by Viking Masek. As a leader in packaging equipment for a variety of industries, we help businesses decide on the right machinery for operations. As a Wisconsin-based company, cheese is both an integral part of our economy (and our diet) and a packaging application in which we specialize!