Student Resources
A Virtual Tour of the Bega Cheese Factory
Here you can take a tour of the Bega cheesemaking and packaging plants.
Making Cheddar Cheese
Stage 1
Raw milk is
pasteurized
to destroy harmful bacteria, then pumped into the
cheese vats. There are eight vats, each holding 18,000 litres. By the time the
eighth vat is full,
the first one has been emptied and is ready to be filled again.
Specific
lactic acid bacteria
are added to each vat of milk to produce the characteristic flavour in the
final cheese. The coagulating enzyme,
rennet,
is also added. A
curd
is formed as the milk sets into junket. This curd is then cut into small
particles to release the
whey.
The curd and whey in the vat are agitated constantly and
heated
slowly to 37ºC to encourage shrinkage of the curd and to expel more moisture.
After 2½ hours the slurry of curd and whey is pumped from the vat across
to the
Alfomatic.
Stage 2
Upon entering the
Alfomatic, the whey is drained from the curd and the curd is aggregated onto a
continuous belt. During the two hours necessary to travel through the
Alfomatic, the curd is cheddared, milled, salted and mellowed.
In the process of
cheddaring, the small curd particles fuse together to form one big block of
cheese. This
provides the textural characteristic of the cheese.
Then the cheese is
milled
to enable even salt penetration throughout. The pieces of milled curd look
like potato chips. They have a cross-section of two centimetres square, and are
variable in length.
Next, a measured amount of
salt
is mixed with the curd. The curd is then
mellowed
for 20 minutes to allow the salt to penetrate. The salted curd is sucked by a
vacuum from the Alfomatic to the block-forming towers.
The cheese curd is in the
block-forming tower
for 35 minutes. In the tower, the cheese is compressed under its own weight
while a vacuum is applied. At the bottom of the tower, 20kg blocks are pushed
out into
plastic bags, then checked, weighed and vacuum-sealed.
The sealed bags are
packed
into cardboard boxes and stacked onto pallets.
Stage 3
The cheese is cooled to 8ºC and stored at that temperature until maturity.
The length of time in storage determines
the strength of flavour in the cheese.
Mild cheese is matured for three months,
Tasty cheese for up to nine months
and Vintage cheese for 15 to 24 months.
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Making Butter
Stage 1
The cream is
separated
from the milk. It is then
vacreated
to pasteurise and deodorise the cream.
Stage 2
The cream is pumped through pipes to the continuous
Butter Maker. In the Butter Maker, it's beaten until it separates as
solid butter
and
liquid buttermilk. The buttermilk is drained off and is pumped to the Whey
Plant.
Stage 3
The butter is worked to
remove excess water.
Salt
is added at this stage, for Salted Butter. The butter flows out of the machine
and is packaged.
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Making Whey Powder
Stage 1
In the cheese-making plant, cheese curds are separated from cheese whey. The whey is then clarified to remove cheese fines, separated to remove milkfat and pasteurised to destroy bacteria.
Stage 2
The whey is transferred to the
powder plant
where it is
partially concentrated
to 16% by removal of water and minerals. This process is called
nanofiltration; minerals are separated according to particle size.
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Stage 3
Further concentration takes place in the
evaporator. This plant operates under a vacuum, which lowers the boiling point
of the
liquid. Here, the 16% total solids whey is
concentrated
to 52% total solids by boiling off water.
Stage 4
The concentrated whey is stored in
crystallisation vats
for up to 12 hours to allow the lactose to crystallise. After crystallisation,
the whey concentrate is pumped to the
Niro Spray Dryer
where it is further dried, leaving
Demineralised Whey Powder
with a water content of 2%. The finished product is then packed into 25kg or
1-tonne bags ready for sale on the domestic or export markets.
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Processing, Cutting and Packaging
To meet ever-increasing demand for Bega cheeses, in 1998 Bega Cheese invested
$25 million in the installation of a new Processing, Cutting and Packaging
Plant.
 The new plant was designed to service an increasing export market in addition
to existing local markets. At full capacity, it is envisaged that two thirds of
product will go off-shore. It has also been a major boost for the local economy.
For export markets the Bega brand can be cut and packed to specific market
labelling requirements. Some customers may want their own proprietary branding
or private label on cheddar and processed cheese products. Bega Cheese is also
able to service major industrial and food service contracts including burger
slices, portion control, government and other similar contracts.
The plant is constructed to the highest standard and is the first food plant in
Australia to operate at pharmaceutical grade hygiene standard. The plant is
equal to the best in the world in terms of capacity, hygiene and internal
atmospheric control.
The processing plant includes two lines for individually wrapped processed
cheese slices and one for non-individually wrapped sliced caterers' packs. The
Quality Assurance System includes cheese grading, check weighing and metal
detection in the packing lines.
 The cutting and packaging equipment for natural
cheeses includes a vacuum packaging line, a Cryovac shrink tunnel and a bag
loader for 1kg, 2.5kg and 10kg blocks. There are two flow wrap gas flush lines
for 250g, 500g, 750g and 1kg blocks, and a Multivac portion line which also
handles Bega Stringers.
These lines can handle contract specifications and alternative weight packs.
Bega Cheese now has the potential to manufacture and distribute 18,000 tonnes
of natural cheese and 12,000 tonnes of processed cheese each year.
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Individually Wrapped Slices
Stage 1
Cheese, butter, cream and other ingredients are blended and delivered into the
Auger trough, and from there to the cooker. A metering hopper measures exact
amounts of heated cheese to be delivered to the Individually Wrapped Slice
extruder. Here, the hot cheese is wrapped in a continuous ribbon of plastic
film.
Stage 2
The ribbon of Bega processed cheese is passed through a chilled water bath.
Next, it passes through a series of heat crimpers and anvils, which produce a
strip of wrapped slices. The strip is then cut into individually wrapped slices.
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Stage 3
The slices are stacked then placed on a conveyor belt to be taken to the PFM
Overwrapping machine. Here, the stacks of slices are wrapped in their outer
packaging, with the Bega brand or a brand specified by our contract customers.
The cheese passes through a metal detector and a weight checking machine. It is
then conveyed to the packing and palletising area.
Pallets are refrigerated and stored, ready for the Australian domestic market
or for export.
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Contract Packaging
Bega Natural Cheddar Cheese is manufactured at our Lagoon Street factory in
Bega, and cut and packaged at our Ridge Street Plant, just minutes away.
The 20kg blocks of cheddar are conveyed to the packaging line.
The blocks are cut into weights and sizes to meet specific contract customer
requirements.
The blocks are then conveyed through the Hayssen Overwrapper for wrapping in
the customer's specific packaging.
The wrapped blocks then pass to the packing and palletising area.
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