SERVI DORYL MANUFACTURES A NEW RANGE OF BLUE MOULDS

For several years, Servi Doryl has been offering moulds, block-moulds, coagulation vats, curd distributors and draining mats made of coloured plastic: in blue and pastel green in most cases. This colouring of the plastic was, until now, reserved for products dedicated to the production of soft cheeses.

In order to meet the recurrent demands of its customers, Servi Doryl is launching a new range of blue micro-perforated moulds, this time dedicated to the production of pressed cheeses.

What are the manufacturing processes ?

The cheese moulds are designed in our workshops and made of polypropylene. The cheese moulds are designed in-house and made of polypropylene. Migration tests have been carried out and the products are fully suitable for food contact with cheese, according to the EU regulation EU10/2011. For the manufacture of the coloured mould, the blue colour is added to the plastic to obtain coloured plates. Its properties are identical to those of natural polypropylene (without dye): same resistance to high temperatures, same manufacturing processes.

Boilerplate moulds are made from blue plastic sheets. These sheets are screened, microperforated, boiled and machined. They are then shaped into the square, round or rectangular shape and exact size desired by the cheese maker.

The mould is assembled by polyfusion (welding in the mass), without adding material. Polyfusion consists of melting the plastic to assemble the parts. This technique allows an increased resistance of the product and a perfect hygiene.

Why the colour blue ?

Blue plastics are widely used in the food industry due to their visibility and quick identification on production lines. Indeed, the only colour rarely found in food is blue. The visual identification of possible blue plastic fragments in the curd or other foreign bodies is therefore greatly facilitated. This provides a higher level of prevention against possible cheese contamination.

Detergent residues are also more clearly visible on blue-coloured plastic moulds than on white (or dye-free) moulds.

What are the advantages ?

As explained above, the coloured mould aims, above all, to improve the food safety of cheeses by reducing the risk of foreign bodies.

It will also ensure better product identification, particularly when the mould fleet is renewed. The blue mould will also allow better traceability of production, for example, to identify organic and non-organic cheese production.

The colouring of the mould is not the only solution for differentiating batches. Servi Doryl also offers its customers an engraving service.

Tests in progress at the CFR Brioude cheese factory

Two blue square moulds and lids are currently being tested at the CFR Brioude cheese factory (Richemont Group), the largest raclette factory in the world located in the Massif Central, France.

The site processes around 600,000 litres of cow’s milk and produces 68 tonnes of raclette per day: figures that are constantly changing.

Testing of the blue moulds on their production line has been underway since September 2022 and is expected to continue for the next six months.

Very regularly, visual checks of the material are carried out in order to evaluate the behaviour of the blue plastic material over time. The aim is to monitor these moulds so that they give full satisfaction to our cheese-making customers. The points of vigilance are the gluing, the change of colour due to the use of the material, the wear of the plastic material (potential deformations) and the cheese result.

To date, the quality of the moulds remains unchanged and the CFR Brioude cheese dairy is satisfied with the products.

If you have a large-scale project and would like to change your equipment with blue or bi-colour moulds, do not hesitate to contact us by telephone on +33 (0)2 47 96 11 50 or via our contact form.

Our sales staff will be delighted to advise you on the best solutions for your manufacturing processes and technologies.