Candies from dry milk, unique starters and "sour milk" for space. Belarusian scientists present innovative products
How new product manufacturing technologies are developed
The Institute of MEAT and Dairy Industry, a leading research organization that supports the activities of the meat and dairy industries in Belarus, is a state-owned enterprise. The Institute's employees develop new products for the mass market, as well as for children, dietary and therapeutic nutrition. They also create fermented MILK products for space flights. On the eve of the International Specialized Exhibition "BELAGRO-2024", where the unique developments of the scientific organization will be presented, we talked with the management of the Institute about the present and future of Belarusian food products.
Implementation of innovative solutions
The Institute is a leading scientific organization that combines fundamental and applied research in the field of processing dairy and meat raw materials.
- The entire history of the Institute is associated with the development of innovative technologies for the meat and dairy industries, which are subsequently successfully mastered by our processing enterprises. The developments of our scientists allow us to ensure a high level of quality and a wide range of manufactured products, including products for various groups of the population and contributing to the formation of healthy eating habits, - notes the DIRECTOR of the RUE "Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry", candidate of economic sciences Gordey Gusakov. - Practical research results are implemented in the corresponding technologies for the production of general and special-purpose products, the development of methodological and regulatory documentation. We are in constant interaction with meat and milk processing enterprises, promptly respond to all incoming requests. However, we also strive to work ahead of the curve.
In recent years, scientists have implemented many projects that are important for the entire country and contribute to the introduction of innovative solutions, expansion of the product range, and an increase in EXPORT deliveries. Thus, a technology for the production of "candies" from dry milk has been developed. Such a product is new for our country, but quite promising given the availability of a large amount of high-quality raw materials for its production and a wide export potential. The product is intended as a snack for children and adults, including those who consume little dairy products.
Production of unique starters
The institute operates a biotechnological production of starters for the dairy industry, which is unique for our country.
– At the present stage, we carry out industrial production of a wide range of concentrated dry and frozen starters for cottage cheese, fermented milk drinks, sour cream, cheeses (soft, semi-hard, hard), functional products and others, – says First Deputy Director, Candidate of Technical Sciences Natalia Furik. – Despite the fact that today we produce more than 55 types of starters, we consider further expansion of the range of products to be one of our strategic tasks. This will meet the needs of the most demanding manufacturers of both traditional fermented dairy products for the Republic of Belarus and products with unique properties, including functional ones.
Close cooperation with specialists from industry enterprises allows us to track changes in the organoleptic preferences of consumers and participate in improving the technology of dairy products. Based on the formed conditions, we improve the composition and technology of starters.
This year, we completed the development of a technology for the production of 9 types of cheese starters based on a new type of lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. These microorganisms help to accelerate the ripening of cheeses and the formation of a bright cheese flavor and can be used both as part of the starter culture used directly in the production of cheeses, and as additional cultures in the production of cheeses, giving the product certain consumer characteristics.
The described new cultures isolated by our scientists in the country from natural sources, after conducting biochemical and molecular genetic studies, as well as confirming their production-valuable properties, are passported in the Republican collection of industrial strains of starter cultures and their bacteriophages. By the way, the collection is an object of the National Heritage of the Republic of Belarus.
The Institute is actively developing another direction that is in demand by the population today - the production of starters. Now everyone can buy a starter for cottage cheese, yogurt, bio-yogurt, curdled milk, bioproduct in a retail network and prepare their favorite fermented milk product on their own at home.
– We started working on this direction based on incoming requests, and currently consumers have a choice: to buy a ready-made fermented milk product or to make it themselves, using additional components at their discretion, such as, for example, berries , nuts, – Natalia Furik clarifies.
For different categories of the population
– For many years, we have been successfully engaged in the creation of innovative technologies for processing livestock raw materials, as well as the development of functional and specialized products for the nutrition of representatives of various categories of the population. This is a range of products that includes baby, therapeutic and prophylactic, gerodietetic and sports nutrition . Also nutrition for people experiencing increased physical activity, students, those engaged in mental work, - lists Deputy Director for Research, PhD in Veterinary Sciences, Associate Professor Elena Stepanova.
The institute constantly conducts research aimed at developing products that can correct various deficiencies in the nutrition of the population in order to make it as complete as possible.
Our employees pay special attention to the development of the baby food industry, the development of new and improvement of traditional production technologies, and the expansion of its range. Thus, as part of the implementation of the Scientific and Technical Program "Children's and Specialized Nutrition" for 2021-2025, cooked sausage products were developed for the nutrition of preschool and school-age children with an increased body mass index. This product has a reduced calorie content (no more than 170 kcal/100 g) compared to traditional products (246 kcal/100 g). In addition, it is enriched with B vitamins and has a reduced SALT content. The reduction in calorie content is achieved by selecting raw materials, which ensures a 30% reduction in the quota of animal fats. At the same time, the protein content in the developed recipes is at least 12.5%.
Products from non-traditional raw materials
The Institute has developed a wide range of meat products from types of meat raw materials typical for our region: pork, beef, poultry. However, today consumers are also interested in products from non-traditional raw materials.
- One of the areas in which our researchers work is the development of lamb products. A unique feature of this type of raw material is the high content of lecithin - a substance that helps prevent cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and a number of others, - says Svetlana Gordynets, HEAD of the meat products technology department, PhD in agricultural sciences.
The development of sausage products, semi-finished products and canned goods from lamb has been completed. Together with OJSC "Orsha Meat-Canning Plant", an assortment of canned meat pieces has been created, made from high-quality lamb and having a high content of protein, vitamins of group B, PP, minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and iodine) and low cholesterol. The products are export-oriented and open up good prospects for processors. Work
is underwayto expand the range and develop technologies for manufacturing products from meat of game animals - these are canned goods, dry-cured products, minced meat, raw sausages , etc.
If there is lactose intolerance Scientists
also thought about certain categories of the population, for whom the consumption of dairy products is limited due to lactose intolerance. - We have created new recipes and technologies for obtaining a whole range of lactose-free and low-lactose products: whole milk ( drinking milk , cream), fermented milk (
yogurt ,sour cream ,cottage cheese , kefir ),ice cream , - emphasizes the head of the laboratory of cheese and butter making, candidate of technical sciences Lyudmila Bogdanova. - Technologies have been developed for the production of lactose-free cheeses and butter, dry hydrolyzed instant milk, condensed milk products with SUGAR, including boiled ones.
In terms of their nutritional properties, lactose-free dairy products do not differ from classic ones, but unlike them, they are suitable for absolutely everyone, without causing negative symptoms of gastrointestinal tract disorders.
Their use will allow people with lactose intolerance to receive almost the entire range of useful nutrients in milk and dairy products, including essential amino acids, vitamins and microelements.
Development of national standards
According to the deputy director for quality and innovation work Ekaterina Shegidevich, Belarusian dairy and meat products are widely represented, known and in demand in different parts of the world, which once again confirms their high level of quality and safety.
– For our institute as a specialized organization, one of the areas of activity is the work carried out in the field of standardization, – noted the interviewee. – The Institute has made a significant contribution to the formation and improvement of national standardization in the field of meat and milk processing. Thus, almost all state standards for the main types of meat and dairy products have been developed by our specialists in cooperation with representatives of enterprises, industry associations and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus.
Currently, one of the factors influencing the further development of the national standardization system is the membership of the Republic of Belarus in the EAEU , which necessitates compliance with the regulatory acts of the Customs Union in the field of technical regulation, such as technical regulations. The Institute's specialists take an active part in the development of interstate standards, are authorized representatives of our country in interstate technical committees in the areas of milk, meat and fish processing.
As part of the implementation of the state standardization plan, last year the institute developed STB 1945-2023 "Poultry meat. Technical conditions" and draft interstate standards: GOST "Low-lactose and lactose-free drinking milk. General technical conditions" and GOST "Low-lactose and lactose-free fermented milk products. General technical conditions".
Research in and for space
– Currently, together with the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we are implementing a Russian-Belarusian target project under the short name "Proxibiotic", – introduces the head of the biotechnology department, candidate of technical sciences Natalia Zhabanos. – For exposure in the ISS conditions, strains of microorganisms isolated and studied in the Republic of Belarus were used, which have shown effectiveness in correcting the microbiocenosis of the gastrointestinal tract in the composition of fermented milk products.
At the institute, 16 strains of lactic acid microorganisms and bifidobacteria have been selected for conducting biotechnological experiments on board the Russian segment of the International Space Station, combinations of starter cultures have been developed for the manufacture of experimental samples of fermented milk product in space flight conditions.
The main goal of all the scientific work carried out and still planned is the creation of a complex fermented milk product to maintain human microbiota in space flight conditions. Scientists are confident that the microbial composition of the selected combinations of starter cultures will be in demand to maintain the microbiota not only in space flight conditions, but also in everyday life.
The first results of post-flight scientific research with samples returned from the ISS made it possible to determine the species and strain compositions of the starter for such products. Now unique combinations based on terrestrial cultures have been developed and dry starters of probiotic microorganisms "ProxiMilk" have been created. They can be used both for consumption and for the preparation of various bio-products at home.
As a result of working with the starter and the bio-product obtained using it, our specialists have developed a new product in terms of technological solutions and a unique microbial composition that is in demand on the market - ice cream with live probiotic microorganisms. The stability of their beneficial properties has been tested in a space experiment. Of course, such a product will serve to maintain human microbiota not only in space flight conditions.
The implementation of experiments in the conditions of the International Space Station is an important milestone both in the history of the Institute and Belarusian science as a whole. The results will find their application in the creation of innovative technologies in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, including in the system of providing food for promising manned space expeditions.
Scientists of the RUE "Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry" together with their Russian colleagues are developing combinations of starter cultures for the production of experimental samples of fermented milk products in space flight conditions.
Alexey GORBUNOV, photo - Nadezhda KOSTETSKAYA
The Institute of MEAT and Dairy Industry, a leading research organization that supports the activities of the meat and dairy industries in Belarus, is a state-owned enterprise. The Institute's employees develop new products for the mass market, as well as for children, dietary and therapeutic nutrition. They also create fermented MILK products for space flights. On the eve of the International Specialized Exhibition "BELAGRO-2024", where the unique developments of the scientific organization will be presented, we talked with the management of the Institute about the present and future of Belarusian food products.
Implementation of innovative solutions
The Institute is a leading scientific organization that combines fundamental and applied research in the field of processing dairy and meat raw materials.
- The entire history of the Institute is associated with the development of innovative technologies for the meat and dairy industries, which are subsequently successfully mastered by our processing enterprises. The developments of our scientists allow us to ensure a high level of quality and a wide range of manufactured products, including products for various groups of the population and contributing to the formation of healthy eating habits, - notes the DIRECTOR of the RUE "Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry", candidate of economic sciences Gordey Gusakov. - Practical research results are implemented in the corresponding technologies for the production of general and special-purpose products, the development of methodological and regulatory documentation. We are in constant interaction with meat and milk processing enterprises, promptly respond to all incoming requests. However, we also strive to work ahead of the curve.
In recent years, scientists have implemented many projects that are important for the entire country and contribute to the introduction of innovative solutions, expansion of the product range, and an increase in EXPORT deliveries. Thus, a technology for the production of "candies" from dry milk has been developed. Such a product is new for our country, but quite promising given the availability of a large amount of high-quality raw materials for its production and a wide export potential. The product is intended as a snack for children and adults, including those who consume little dairy products.
Production of unique starters
The institute operates a biotechnological production of starters for the dairy industry, which is unique for our country.
– At the present stage, we carry out industrial production of a wide range of concentrated dry and frozen starters for cottage cheese, fermented milk drinks, sour cream, cheeses (soft, semi-hard, hard), functional products and others, – says First Deputy Director, Candidate of Technical Sciences Natalia Furik. – Despite the fact that today we produce more than 55 types of starters, we consider further expansion of the range of products to be one of our strategic tasks. This will meet the needs of the most demanding manufacturers of both traditional fermented dairy products for the Republic of Belarus and products with unique properties, including functional ones.
Close cooperation with specialists from industry enterprises allows us to track changes in the organoleptic preferences of consumers and participate in improving the technology of dairy products. Based on the formed conditions, we improve the composition and technology of starters.
This year, we completed the development of a technology for the production of 9 types of cheese starters based on a new type of lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. These microorganisms help to accelerate the ripening of cheeses and the formation of a bright cheese flavor and can be used both as part of the starter culture used directly in the production of cheeses, and as additional cultures in the production of cheeses, giving the product certain consumer characteristics.
The described new cultures isolated by our scientists in the country from natural sources, after conducting biochemical and molecular genetic studies, as well as confirming their production-valuable properties, are passported in the Republican collection of industrial strains of starter cultures and their bacteriophages. By the way, the collection is an object of the National Heritage of the Republic of Belarus.
The Institute is actively developing another direction that is in demand by the population today - the production of starters. Now everyone can buy a starter for cottage cheese, yogurt, bio-yogurt, curdled milk, bioproduct in a retail network and prepare their favorite fermented milk product on their own at home.
– We started working on this direction based on incoming requests, and currently consumers have a choice: to buy a ready-made fermented milk product or to make it themselves, using additional components at their discretion, such as, for example, berries , nuts, – Natalia Furik clarifies.
For different categories of the population
– For many years, we have been successfully engaged in the creation of innovative technologies for processing livestock raw materials, as well as the development of functional and specialized products for the nutrition of representatives of various categories of the population. This is a range of products that includes baby, therapeutic and prophylactic, gerodietetic and sports nutrition . Also nutrition for people experiencing increased physical activity, students, those engaged in mental work, - lists Deputy Director for Research, PhD in Veterinary Sciences, Associate Professor Elena Stepanova.
The institute constantly conducts research aimed at developing products that can correct various deficiencies in the nutrition of the population in order to make it as complete as possible.
Our employees pay special attention to the development of the baby food industry, the development of new and improvement of traditional production technologies, and the expansion of its range. Thus, as part of the implementation of the Scientific and Technical Program "Children's and Specialized Nutrition" for 2021-2025, cooked sausage products were developed for the nutrition of preschool and school-age children with an increased body mass index. This product has a reduced calorie content (no more than 170 kcal/100 g) compared to traditional products (246 kcal/100 g). In addition, it is enriched with B vitamins and has a reduced SALT content. The reduction in calorie content is achieved by selecting raw materials, which ensures a 30% reduction in the quota of animal fats. At the same time, the protein content in the developed recipes is at least 12.5%.
Products from non-traditional raw materials
The Institute has developed a wide range of meat products from types of meat raw materials typical for our region: pork, beef, poultry. However, today consumers are also interested in products from non-traditional raw materials.
- One of the areas in which our researchers work is the development of lamb products. A unique feature of this type of raw material is the high content of lecithin - a substance that helps prevent cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and a number of others, - says Svetlana Gordynets, HEAD of the meat products technology department, PhD in agricultural sciences.
The development of sausage products, semi-finished products and canned goods from lamb has been completed. Together with OJSC "Orsha Meat-Canning Plant", an assortment of canned meat pieces has been created, made from high-quality lamb and having a high content of protein, vitamins of group B, PP, minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron and iodine) and low cholesterol. The products are export-oriented and open up good prospects for processors. Work
is underwayto expand the range and develop technologies for manufacturing products from meat of game animals - these are canned goods, dry-cured products, minced meat, raw sausages , etc.
If there is lactose intolerance Scientists
also thought about certain categories of the population, for whom the consumption of dairy products is limited due to lactose intolerance. - We have created new recipes and technologies for obtaining a whole range of lactose-free and low-lactose products: whole milk ( drinking milk , cream), fermented milk (
yogurt ,sour cream ,cottage cheese , kefir ),ice cream , - emphasizes the head of the laboratory of cheese and butter making, candidate of technical sciences Lyudmila Bogdanova. - Technologies have been developed for the production of lactose-free cheeses and butter, dry hydrolyzed instant milk, condensed milk products with SUGAR, including boiled ones.
In terms of their nutritional properties, lactose-free dairy products do not differ from classic ones, but unlike them, they are suitable for absolutely everyone, without causing negative symptoms of gastrointestinal tract disorders.
Their use will allow people with lactose intolerance to receive almost the entire range of useful nutrients in milk and dairy products, including essential amino acids, vitamins and microelements.
Development of national standards
According to the deputy director for quality and innovation work Ekaterina Shegidevich, Belarusian dairy and meat products are widely represented, known and in demand in different parts of the world, which once again confirms their high level of quality and safety.
– For our institute as a specialized organization, one of the areas of activity is the work carried out in the field of standardization, – noted the interviewee. – The Institute has made a significant contribution to the formation and improvement of national standardization in the field of meat and milk processing. Thus, almost all state standards for the main types of meat and dairy products have been developed by our specialists in cooperation with representatives of enterprises, industry associations and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus.
Currently, one of the factors influencing the further development of the national standardization system is the membership of the Republic of Belarus in the EAEU , which necessitates compliance with the regulatory acts of the Customs Union in the field of technical regulation, such as technical regulations. The Institute's specialists take an active part in the development of interstate standards, are authorized representatives of our country in interstate technical committees in the areas of milk, meat and fish processing.
As part of the implementation of the state standardization plan, last year the institute developed STB 1945-2023 "Poultry meat. Technical conditions" and draft interstate standards: GOST "Low-lactose and lactose-free drinking milk. General technical conditions" and GOST "Low-lactose and lactose-free fermented milk products. General technical conditions".
Research in and for space
– Currently, together with the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, we are implementing a Russian-Belarusian target project under the short name "Proxibiotic", – introduces the head of the biotechnology department, candidate of technical sciences Natalia Zhabanos. – For exposure in the ISS conditions, strains of microorganisms isolated and studied in the Republic of Belarus were used, which have shown effectiveness in correcting the microbiocenosis of the gastrointestinal tract in the composition of fermented milk products.
At the institute, 16 strains of lactic acid microorganisms and bifidobacteria have been selected for conducting biotechnological experiments on board the Russian segment of the International Space Station, combinations of starter cultures have been developed for the manufacture of experimental samples of fermented milk product in space flight conditions.
The main goal of all the scientific work carried out and still planned is the creation of a complex fermented milk product to maintain human microbiota in space flight conditions. Scientists are confident that the microbial composition of the selected combinations of starter cultures will be in demand to maintain the microbiota not only in space flight conditions, but also in everyday life.
The first results of post-flight scientific research with samples returned from the ISS made it possible to determine the species and strain compositions of the starter for such products. Now unique combinations based on terrestrial cultures have been developed and dry starters of probiotic microorganisms "ProxiMilk" have been created. They can be used both for consumption and for the preparation of various bio-products at home.
As a result of working with the starter and the bio-product obtained using it, our specialists have developed a new product in terms of technological solutions and a unique microbial composition that is in demand on the market - ice cream with live probiotic microorganisms. The stability of their beneficial properties has been tested in a space experiment. Of course, such a product will serve to maintain human microbiota not only in space flight conditions.
The implementation of experiments in the conditions of the International Space Station is an important milestone both in the history of the Institute and Belarusian science as a whole. The results will find their application in the creation of innovative technologies in the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, including in the system of providing food for promising manned space expeditions.
Scientists of the RUE "Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry" together with their Russian colleagues are developing combinations of starter cultures for the production of experimental samples of fermented milk products in space flight conditions.
Alexey GORBUNOV, photo - Nadezhda KOSTETSKAYA