Starter cultures
General information 
About 35 % of our food is produced with the help of starter cultures. The name "starter culture" is inspired by the fact that these microorganisms initiate important processes of change in food, technologically referred to as fermentation. We work here with the Bulgarian company Lactina Ltd., which gives us the opportunity to provide very natural and traditional cultures from the country of origin of the yoghurt, which means that we are fully in line with the trend with this product range.
Properties & advantages
The strength of Lactina Ltd. is certainly in the field of yoghurt cultures and here in the use of very pure and traditional Lactobacillus bulgaricus strains, which in combination with Streptococcus thermophilus are the most important component of traditional yoghurts. The product range here extends from very mildly acidifying strains, which are very popular in Central Europe, to the traditional sour and very aromatic varieties from the Caucasian region, which are slowly coming back into fashion here as well, as they most closely follow the trend towards originality. Only cultures from natural sources with proven identity (patents), without gene modification and with high phage resistance are used. Rotation programs are also available at any time.
Products & use
In addition to this core competence for yoghurt cultures (firm, stirred and drinking yoghurt), Lactina Ltd. was also able to develop a very interesting portfolio of cultures for traditional products such as Kefir, Tvorog, Ayran and Kumys.
The selection of starters from pure and mixed cultures for white and yellow cheeses, sour milk, sour cream, dough, cabbage and raw sausages and ham is equally extensive.
The cultures are usually supplied in a concentration of at least 9.5 x 109 CFU spray-dried or deep-frozen and are suitable for direct inoculation and as mother cultures. They are selected from a wide range of standard products according to the customer's technological, taste and texture requirements, or they can be custom-made.
Qualitative aspects & certifications
The Lactina cultures are registered in Austria by InfoXgen and therefore also suitable for organic products and guaranteed GMO-free. Lactina Ltd. is ISO 22000, GMP, Kosher and Halal certified. As a rule, the products can be kept for 18 months at -12 °C.
Packaging
Bag made of aluminium foil packed in a polystyrene carton for transport, sufficiently cooled and ready for batch or tank transport.