Hear
Currently, The growing global demand for healthier eating drives consumers to look for natural and functional products. In response to this trend, a team of specialists from Institute of Food Technology (ITA) of the National Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA) collaborated with the company Lácteos Capilla del Señor SA to develop the first cheese in Argentina designed specifically for reduce cholesterol and enriched with 30% of the daily requirements of vitamin E.
As explained by the organization, This innovation is the result of the development of a technology that incorporates phytosterols and natural antioxidants into the Port Salut cheese making process.. Sergio Rizzo, INTA researcher, pointed out that “it is a product aimed at meeting the demand and needs of people with mild hypercholesterolemia. Phytosterols, compounds of plant origin, help reduce the levels of total cholesterol and LDL, known as bad cholesterol, in the consumer.”
The positive impact on health is evidenced by studies that indicate that daily intake of 2 grams of free phytosterols, as part of a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, can reduce cholesterol levels by between 7% and 10%. . These amounts are achieved by consuming two 30-gram servings of this functional cheese.
In addition to phytosterols, tocopherols – plant antioxidants – offer a protective effect on the nutrients in cheese, providing 30% of people’s daily requirements for vitamin E.
Álvaro Ignacio Ugartemendia, general manager of Lácteos Capilla del Señor, expressed: “We were always challenging, in the sense that we wanted to differentiate ourselves from the market. I think it was in our DNA to make healthier products, because consuming cheese in itself is healthy.”
“This is how we started making light mozzarella in 2011 and thanks to the link with INTA we were able to develop two functional cheeses, which are patented and that provide elements to reduce cholesterol, such as Port Salut and light mozzarella with phytosterols, which are compounds of plant origin that help reduce the levels of total cholesterol and LDL, known as bad cholesterol in the consumer, to which we also add natural antioxidants,” he added.
“The developed technology incorporates phytosterols and natural antioxidants (vitamin E) to the process of making Port Salut cheese, which is a soft, high-moisture cheese, usually consumed at different times of the day and in various culinary preparations, and can be used in cold or hot preparations,” highlighted Adriana Descalzo, INTA researcher and one of the specialists who led the project.
INTA warned about the shortage of foods with phytosterols in Argentina, highlighting that the consumption of two servings of this cheese provides the necessary 2 grams of phytosterols to reduce cholesterol levels, along with half of the recommended daily dose of vitamin E. in its active form, alpha-tocopherol.
This cheese has the IRAM certification of GMP Made in Córdoba Seal, which guarantees its quality and origin under the standards of the Argentine Institute of Normalization and Certification (IRAM). It also has HACCP Implementation, the certification of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and the HACCP system – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points -, which constitutes an effective instrument to communicate the organization’s commitment to ensure the safety of their products sustainably.
“These functional cheeses, developed in Capilla del Señor together with INTA, have received numerous recognitions, including that of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which highlighted us as a global success story,” concluded Ugartemendia.
THE NATION
