Switzerland is the latest country to approve the use of natamycin, an inhibitor of moulds and yeasts, in cheese and meat production joining the European Union, the US, some South American and Eastern European countries who have already taken this decision.
In a statement this week, Martin Warmerdam, business manager, preservation, at DSM Food Specialties, said: "It is very positive to see that an important country like Switzerland has now also taken this step. It brings major benefits to producers, importers and exporters of cheese and meat products with business interests in the region.
For manufacturers it will provide significant efficiencies in the production, storage and distribution of their final products. The need for keeping separate production lines is now in most cases obsolete."
DSM has been marketing Delvocid, an antimycotic of which natamycin is the active component, for 35 years. Originally developed by the company from a micro-organism found in South Africa, research led to the production of the substance in a pure form. The company writes that the product in the application has no colour, odour or taste and is effective in small quantities against moulds and yeasts that occur in food products and cause them to deteriorate. DSM claims that Delvocid has no activity against bacteria and does not interfere with the natural ripening process in cheese, cured ham and dry sausages.
The Swiss approval covers the use of natamycin on meat products and on extra hard, hard and semi-hard cheeses.