4 replies to this topic

[FFad]

Is anyone experienced with butter?

I am trying to establish the temperature control and shelf life requirements for bulk butter

1.   If butter has been held in chilled conditions since production, is it ok to move it into storage later on. What is the maximum duration after which i cannot decide to freeze chilled butter.

 

2. If the shelf life from production date is say 8 weeks and i have held it under chiilled conditions for say 2 weeks, if i decide them to send to frozen storage, can i extend the shelf life or do i have to stick with the original 8 weeks use by date.

 

I will appreciates comments and where possible reference materials.

 

Thanks

 

[Scampi]

I would suggest (given your product) that you have a lab run shelf life testing on both scenarios then you will know definitively what your shelf is under all your storage conditions 

[FurFarmandFork]

I would suggest (given your product) that you have a lab run shelf life testing on both scenarios then you will know definitively what your shelf is under all your storage conditions 

What Scampi said, however there's a ton of research out there showing that butter is essentially low risk and shelf stable from a microbial perspective, so it's likely that that won't be your main issue. What you're more likely to run into are quality issues. The water-in-oil emulsion that butter consists of changes when temperatures swing, and you are likely to see weird separations, crystal formation, or other problems that could affect your process.

 

Do a literature review on scholar on the affects of refrigeration-freezing cycles on butter to see what you might run into, then abuse some butter in your plant and see what happens.

[Ryan M.]

Your main risk is the quality with texture as described above with temperature fluctuations, as well as, mold growth on surface areas.  The potential for mold growth is dependent on the type of butter...unsalted, cultured, salted.  Cultured and salted tend to hold up better and have a longer shelf-life from the mold perspective.

 

I've seen 3 months refrigerated on unsalted bulk butter and up to 9 months frozen.  If thawed after freezing typical is 30 days under refrigeration.

 

6 months refrigerated for salted and/or cultured bulk butter and up to 1 year to 18 months frozen.  If thawed after freezing typical is 60 days under refrigeration.

[FFad]

Thank you for your responses