Cheese Processing

Salting is one of the basic principles of cheese manufacturing. After milling, salt is applied to cheese curd to;

• Act as a preservative.
• Accelerate loss of whey during the syneresis (shrinking) phase.
• Influence physical changes in cheese protein solubility and conformation, which affect cheese rheology.
• Intensify flavor or serve as a flavor enhancer.
• Influence texture of the final cheese during maturation (ripening) phase by controlling microbial growth and enzyme activity.

Thayer Scale’s Hygienic Weigh Feeders (HWF) accurately measures the rate of flow of cheese curd based on the direct measurement of mass and velocity variables. Cheese curd measurement takes place over a fixed length of the weigh feeder conveyor using a moving window average of measurements taken multiple times each second.

A specialized Thayer Scale control algorithm, Scale Location Compensation (SLC), synchronizes the delivery of salt with the varying cheese flow, ensuring that salt is delivered both in the correct proportion, as well as in the proper phase of the sometimes intermittent, but constantly fluctuating cheese curd profile. Thayer Scale offers additional programmable compensation factors that adjust product deliveries to the unique characteristics of a given discharge mechanism.

Thayer Scale’s proprietary, easy to clean Loss-in-Weight feeder technology assures precise, reliable delivery to a single-point or uniformly across the width of the cheese curd profile.

Thayer Scale instrumentation seamlessly integrates with modern process software facilitating automatic, real-time analysis of base cheese curd measurement and the delivery of salt.

Programmable alarm points immediately signal issues with any of these critical measurements and comprehensive manually supervised and/or fully automated calibration processes provide quick validation of measurement accuracy.

Benefits of Thayer Scale’s solution for cheese (curd) production

• Reduced product quality instances
• Improved housekeeping with a low, long-term cost of ownership

HWF feeder is designed and built in accordance with the applicable provisions of 3-A, USDA, and NSF design standard to:

• Provide accurate and repeatable in-process bulk material flow rate measurement for mass balance calculations and process control.
• Reduce sanitation time – the HWF disassembles quickly without hand tools to optimize sanitation effectiveness.
• Tolerate high pressure, high-temperature sanitation evolutions without calibration drift or compromising measurement sensitivity.
• Provide a long-term, low cost of ownership with rugged, “Built-to-Survive” construction.
• Assist with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) and HARPC (Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls) program compliance.

Weigh belts

• Designed to calculate and load light-density materials
• Easily modified for open- or closed-construction
• Adaptable to new or existing process streams

Sanitary

• Loss-in-weight feeders
• Single- or twin-screw
• Vibratory pan or rotary feeder
• Feed rates from grams/minute to tons/hour

Hopper and silo discharge solutions

• Created to ensure precise, uninterrupted flow of material