Powerful new tool for low fat dairy products

Chr. Hansen launches a new dairy culture that provides more mouth feel in low fat cultured milks, shortens fermentation time and meets a rising demand for clean label products.

This new culture, named XPL-1, is the latest product within the eXact®Plus culture range for sour cream, kefirs and other cultured milks.

According to official statistics the world market for fermented milk, including yoghurt, shows average annual growth rates of 2-6% and amounts to an annual production of around 20 million tons. It is estimated that cultured milks such as sour cream, kefir and others constitute 30% of the total market.

The XPL-1 culture fits very well with the global health trend and rising demand from consumers for light products without compromise on taste and feel.

“When we develop new dairy cultures we think of features that are advantageous for our customers as well as for the global consumers, and I am proud to say that our new XPL-1 culture has a lot to offer, “says Karoline Kjaerulff, Marketing Manager, eXact range, Chr. Hansen

More mouth feel, less melting

The eXact®Plus range improves mouth feel with 25% and gel firmness with as much as 40%. For the consumers this means a product that is low fat but still very creamy and with a full-bodied ta.ste. The high gel firmness ensures that e.g. sour cream toppings on cake will keep its shape.

Global dairy producers get the advantage of an approximately three hour shorter fermentation time in production. Furthermore they can reduce or avoid additives like stabilizers and market their product with the desired clean label.

“US, Eastern Europe and Russia are some of our most important markets for the XPL-1 culture as the consumption of cultured milks is quite high in these areas. We launch first in Russia and move on from there, and we have high expectations for growth,” concludes Karoline Kjaerulff.

The new XPL-1 culture comes in the easy-to-use DVS® (Direct Vat Set) packaging invented by Chr. Hansen for consistency, control and convenience in dairy production. It is available in both frozen and freeze-dried versions and will be followed by a frozen XPL-2 for phage rotation by the end of this year.