Dairy products

“Yogurt with 3.5 % fat in milk” means that the yogurt minus the added fruit, i.e. the natural yogurt, has this fat content per 100 grams. The nutritional values, however, indicate the fat content of the final yogurt mixture including fruit per 100 grams.

Whole milk is cow’s milk with an average natural fat content of 3.8 %. According to Article 27 of the FDHA Ordinance on foodstuffs of animal origin, the standardised whole milk that is generally available for sale must have a fat content of at least 35 grams per kilogram but less than 50 grams per kilogram. However, section 2.2.1 of the Bio Suisse guidelines stipulates that the fat content of organic whole milk may not be standardised. The fat content of organic whole milk therefore averages 3.8 % and normally exceeds the 3.5 % found in standard milk.

Lactic acid is a metabolic by-product of lactic acid bacteria, which convert lactose into lactic acid in fermented milk products such as yogurts, thereby causing the milk protein to coagulate. There are two types of lactic acid: right-turning (L+) and left-turning (D-) lactic acid. Depending on which lactic acid bacteria are contained in the product, right-turning (L+) or left-turning (D-) lactic acid is produced.

Since various lactic acid bacteria are employed in the production of yogurt, this results in products that contain both left- and right-turning lactic acid. However, all mild Emmi yogurt varieties primarily contain right-turning lactic acid (around 70 to 80 %). These include Emmi JogurtPur, other Emmi yogurts, Toni yogurts in glass jars and Emmi yogurt drinks. Right-turning lactic acid is also the main type found in set yogurts, although these have a slightly higher proportion of left-turning lactic acid.

While nearly all of the lactic acid produced by the human body is right-turning and is broken down quite quickly by a specific enzyme, left-turning lactic acid can only be metabolised slowly. Science currently agrees that left-turning lactic acid does not represent a health issue for those in good health. It only causes problems in infants up to the age of 12 months and in patients who have had large sections of their small intestine removed. There is therefore no reason to avoid left-turning lactic acid as part of a healthy diet.
 

Sauce cream is intended to refine sauces, not for whipping purposes. The addition of emulsifiers and other stabilisers makes the sauce cream non-curdling when heated. We recommend full or single cream for whipping purposes.

Ghee (also known as clarified butter) is produced by removing the remaining butter milk after heating/melting and centrifuging the butter. The ensuing ghee consists almost entirely of pure milk fat.

All traditional butters from Emmi are made from 100% fresh milk cream. For this reason, they carry the designation “PREMIUM”. However, DIE BUTTER can also be frozen in the interim and may be made from a mixture of different types of cream. 
 

Being sterile, UHT products do not spoil at room temperature. Nonetheless, we advise consumers to store these products at a low temperature wherever possible to best ensure that they retain their flavour.

Once opened, the following instructions apply to all Emmi products, regardless of whether or not it has undergone pasteurisation or UHT treatment:

  • Keep in the refrigerator
  • Use within two to three days

Pasteurised products must always be kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of no more than 6°C. Please note the temperature advice on the packaging.

The raw milk is heated to a temperature of at least 72 °C for 15 seconds or to a temperature-duration combination with the same effect and immediately cooled again. Heating kills a large proportion of the bacteria. If kept refrigerated, pasteurised milk has a shelf life of around six to ten days.

The raw milk is heated to a temperature of 85-135 °C This gives it a shelf life that is longer than pasteurised milk but not as long as that of UHT milk. Furthermore, it must be stored in the refrigerator.
 

Studies carried out by the recognised laboratory and service centre MUVA in Kempten (Germany) have shown that organic milk contains somewhat higher amounts of omega 3 fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid and linolenic acid than conventional milk. These differences are, however, accounted for less by the organic nature of the feed than they are by the influence of the green fodder provided.

In their tests, a natural, grassland-based feeding system without silage maize, as well as a sparing use of concentrated feed resulted in an increased proportion of omega 3 fatty acids in the organic milk compared to conventionally produced milk.
 

The fatty acid composition of milk is relatively consistent when animals are fed a fixed type of feed. It is, however, influenced in practice by the composition of the feed and the season. Based on a multitude of tests, the proportions of the individual fatty acid groups are calculated from the fat content.

The following calculation models apply to omega 3 fatty acids:

  • Dairy products produced in the summer months (May to October):   % fat x 1.62 x 10 = mg omega 3 fatty acids/100g of dairy product
  • Dairy products produced in the winter months (November to April): % fat x 1.15 x 10 = mg omega 3 fatty acids/100g of dairy product
     

Compared to organic milk, milk from grass-fed cows is subject to even stricter ecological standards:

  • More access to pasture for the cows than prescribed by law
  • A higher proportion of roughage (feed form consisting of grass and hay)
  • No soya in the feed 

Only raw milk from Switzerland is used to make the milk and dairy products sold under the Emmi brand. All Swiss dairy producers who supply Emmi with raw milk commit themselves in writing to fulfilling the requirements of the SUISSE GARANTIE label or those applicable to organic production.
 

SUISSE GARANTIE is a guarantee seal that may only be used for Swiss agricultural products. The guarantee seal is only available to producers who can demonstrate that they fulfil the required technical specifications. They must provide evidence of this as part of a product certification by an independent certification body.

The technical specifications are set out in industry regulations and include the following points:

  • The milk must be 100 % Swiss.
  • The dairy farms that produce the milk must fulfil the requirements of the Proof of Ecological Performance (Ökologischer Leistungsnachweis – ÖLN).
  • The use of genetically-modified plants, animal feed or animals is not permitted.

Further information: www.suissegarantie.ch