Press release

Heerlen, NL, 7 October 2021 11:00 CET

Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in Nutrition, Health and Bioscience, today unveils the latest additions to its market-leading, integrated portfolio of phage management solutions: the new Delvo®Phage test kit and Delvo®Analytics app.

The fastest phage testing kit on the market, DSM’s Delvo®Phage test kit can detect phages in dairy within an hour, helping to increase cheese yield and quality, reduce waste and boost value in cheese production by 5-10%. Part of DSM’s broader phage management solution, the new Delvo®Analytics app offers a 24/7 platform for phage insights and data from whey samples of production. It enables dairy manufacturers to take immediate action on results with customized culture rotation recommendations. Together with DSM’s whey testing and culture rotation services, the new digital solutions enable cheese and fermented milk product producers to make smarter, data-driven decisions in real-time for more efficient and cost-effective production processes. 

While phage testing is a common practice within dairies, receiving results can take anywhere from four hours to over a week. At that point, it is often too late to prevent the effects of phage contamination on the performance of cultures or the duration of the fermentation process. In fact, just one week of phage-affected cheese production can result in significant cheese waste and losses of up to €200k.

DSM’s newly expanded, integrated phage management solution delivers the speed producers need to outsmart phages and minimize costly downgrades in product quality. Ideal for cheese and fermented milk products, DSM’s easy-to-use Delvo®Phage test kit is a unique, digital qPCR test kit offering quantitative phage detection results ‘on the spot’ at several steps during production. It enables active bacteriophage monitoring and management in mesophilic and thermophilic dairy processes for reliable and consistent production, providing an early warning system for preventing phage problems. With increased consistency, dairies can increase production capacity and improve cheese and fermented dairy product quality, while also reducing economic losses by preventing waste, minimizing production slowdowns and improving sustainability.

Further advancing its market-leading portfolio of phage management solutions, DSM also provides the Delvo®Analytics app. After submitting whey samples for testing, dairy manufacturers can view the results of the phage analysis and access insights into phage results and trends via the app at all times. Based on this data, DSM experts can provide culture rotation and process recommendations via the app which is available on computer, tablet or phone, offering a go-to platform for phage insights.

“Bacteriophage contamination is a challenge faced by nearly all cheese manufacturers and lengthy testing timings have long been a substantial barrier to combatting issues caused by phages,” comments Evandro Oliveira de Souza, Cheese Global Business Lead, DSM. “Our team of dedicated dairy experts understand these challenges and can help customers identify areas for improvement and implement a culture rotation strategy that enables them to stay one step ahead of phages – and the competition. Dairies can have peace of mind that whenever issues occur, DSM is the ideal partner to provide support and lead them in the right direction towards higher quality cheese.” 

For more information on DSM’s integrated phage management capabilities, including the new Delvo®Phage testing kit and Delvo®Analytics app, visit the website.