As a new type of foreign trade service provider driven by both technology transformation and foreign trade business, HiSiaddi has built a "1+2+3+4=1" service system and can supply natamycin from multiple well-known original manufacturers.
As a foreign trade enterprise with R&D capabilities, HiSiaddi has repeatedly proposed natamycin formula optimization solutions and application improvement recommendations through technological transformation cooperation with factories and accurate market demand insight. Below is a case of HiSiaddi’s formula optimization consulting service for natamycin.
For more formula optimization consulting services, please contact HiSiaddi customer service.
The purchaser is Castelo, a high-end cheese group headquartered in Madrid, Spain, a leading mid-to-high-end local dairy enterprise in the Iberian Peninsula specializing in three product categories: soft goat white mould cheese, aged hard Manchego cheese and organic processed cheese. Its products are sold at El Corte Inglés high-end supermarkets across Spain, premium fresh food markets in Paris, France and organic chain stores in Portugal. All products comply with EU EC1333, EFSA and LFGB food additive control standards and hold KOSHER certification. The group’s annual total procurement volume of natamycin (E235) reaches 31 tons. It previously purchased imported spherical 50% lactose-based natamycin from the Netherlands, relying on mature supporting formulas for imported raw materials to achieve 6–12 months of mould-free cheese ripening.
Driven by surging prices of European biological fermentation raw materials, extended production lead times at overseas factories and rising annual ocean freight costs, the client launched a procurement plan for domestically produced natamycin as a replacement. It initially purchased standard domestic 50% lactose powder natamycin from two established domestic natamycin manufacturers. After the first 2.5-ton batch was put into production, four critical technical failures emerged during manufacturing: caking during feed liquid preparation, sporadic mould growth on cheese, white surface spots with off-odors, and low effective utilization rate. Four consecutive batches of industrial finished products failed inspection, resulting in scrapped raw materials and finished goods equivalent to over 6,800 euros, and the new product launch plan was suspended. Upon industry recommendation, the client fully entrusted HiSiaddi’s technical team to identify and resolve full-chain technical pain points from four dimensions: raw material physical property screening, antiseptic formula reconstruction, on-site production process rectification and minor raw material customization adjustments.
HiSiaddi’s technical team coordinated with the client’s R&D laboratory and cheese production workshop to compare physical and chemical indicators of original Dutch imported samples and standard domestic natamycin products, combined with three application scenarios: soft white mould cheese soaking process, hard cheese automated spraying process and organic processed cheese coating addition. The root causes of failures were identified one by one:
1.
Poor water dispersion causing caking and frequent spray line blockages The client’s automated spray equipment uses room-temperature purified water to prepare 0.08% natamycin working liquid. Standard domestic powdered natamycin features ultra-fine, fluffy particles that clump instantly upon contact with water, forming large flocs that block spray nozzles and resulting in uneven chemical coating thickness on cheese surfaces within the same batch. Original imported Dutch products are spray-granulated particles that disperse uniformly within 30 seconds without caking. The client retained liquid preparation parameters designed for imported raw materials without adjusting pre-treatment procedures for domestic powder, leading to a 22% liquid preparation loss rate and severe raw material waste.
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3.
Irregular mould growth in recessed areas of soft goat cheese after ripening Soft goat cheese is soaked in natamycin liquid for 2 minutes after salting, yet sporadic Aspergillus niger grows in recessed folds after 45 days of room-temperature ripening. Increasing natamycin dosage exceeds EU residue limits (surface residue ≤10mg/kg), while standard dosages fail to control mould growth. Lab tests revealed high residual protein impurities from fermentation in domestic natamycin, insufficient liquid adhesion in folded recessed areas, and limited antibacterial coverage of single-component natamycin, rendering the original pure monomer antiseptic formula ineffective for domestic raw materials.
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White precipitated spots and mild fermented off-odors on aged hard cheese surfaces After spraying and air-drying, Manchego hard cheese develops white flocculent precipitates on surfaces during 3 months of ripening, damaging product appearance and disqualifying premium products from premium supermarket sales. The root cause lies in low-purity lactose carriers in domestic natamycin containing small amounts of low-molecular reducing sugars, which slowly precipitate under the cheese’s constant 12–15°C ripening temperature. Meanwhile, trace fermentation byproducts in raw materials release mild off-odors over time, masking the cheese’s natural nutty milk aroma.
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Compatibility conflicts with organic processed cheese coatings causing peeling and cracking When the client blended natamycin into casein coatings for cheese surface application, domestic raw materials slightly flocculated with natural emulsifiers in coatings, leading to peeling and cracking after coating drying and loss of sealed antiseptic protection. Original imported raw materials underwent carrier modification with compatibility specially tested for milk-based coatings, while standard domestic variants lacked compatibility optimization and caused coating failure when directly used with the original formula.
8.
HiSiaddi established a four-dimensional rectification framework: minor customized raw material modification, optimized compound antiseptic formulas, adjusted workshop liquid preparation and coating processes, and established incoming raw material quality control standards. The plan avoided changes to the client’s core cheese fermentation formula and existing production equipment to control transformation costs, implemented in four steps:
HiSiaddi screened designated domestic manufacturers with fermentation refining and spray granulation capacity to make minor optimizations to the original 50% lactose formula: ① Purify lactose carriers to remove low-molecular impurity sugars and eliminate low-temperature precipitated white spots; ② Adopt low-temperature spray granulation to convert fine powder into 70–90 mesh hollow particles for faster water dispersion; ③ Optimize post-fermentation refining procedures to control mycelium residues and organic solvent residues, reducing byproduct levels to within EU limits. The customized samples balanced the client’s cost demands without switching to high-priced high-purity raw materials, with the product unit price only 18% higher than standard national standard bulk goods.
Based on properties of modified natamycin and without exceeding EU legal residue limits for E235, formulas were optimized leveraging antibacterial synergies to replace the original single natamycin addition scheme:
1. Soft goat white mould cheese (soaking process): Reduce 50% natamycin dosage by 15%, compound with food-grade trisodium citrate and a small amount of ε-polylysine hydrochloride. Citrate chelates trace metal ions on cheese surfaces, while polylysine fills antibacterial blind spots in folded recesses. Liquid soaking concentration was lowered from 0.1% to 0.075%, achieving full mould control while remaining fully compliant.
2. Aged hard Manchego cheese (spraying process): Add 0.02% food-grade propylene glycol to natamycin working liquid to boost chemical penetration through dense cheese surfaces and reduce agent loss, eliminating surface white precipitates without increasing powder dosage.
3. Organic processed cheese (coating addition): Pre-dissolve natamycin in a small quantity of refined milk fat before blending into casein coatings, and fine-tune coating emulsifier ratios simultaneously to eliminate flocculation and peeling, boosting coating adhesion by 90%.
1. Improved spray liquid preparation: Abandon direct dry powder water addition and add a pre-dissolution stage: heat room-temperature purified water to 32°C, pre-disperse natamycin with anhydrous ethanol at a 1:5 ratio before pouring into main tank water, and stir at low speed for 15 minutes to prepare concentrated mother liquor before pumping into the main liquid preparation tank. This completely resolved caking and nozzle blockages, cutting raw material waste from 22% to below 5%.
2. Adjusted cheese soaking process: Replenish fresh mother liquor to cheese soaking liquid every 8 hours and regularly test active ingredient content to avoid activity decay from repeated liquid reuse and reduce mould growth risks during ripening.
3. Optimized coating feeding sequence: Add natamycin mother liquor slowly in the middle and late stages of coating emulsification to prevent powder agglomeration under high-speed stirring.
HiSiaddi assisted the client in drafting incoming inspection rules requiring testing of four indicators per batch: particle size, lactose purity, byproduct content and dispersion rate, accompanied by English SGS COA; unqualified batches are rejected directly to avoid substandard raw materials entering production.
1. Three-stage verification: Laboratory sample ripening tests passed first, followed by pilot production with 500kg raw materials. All three cheese varieties showed zero mould growth, no white spots or off-odors, and intact uncracked coatings throughout full ripening cycles. Products passed inspections by Spain’s food safety authority, with natamycin surface residues fully compliant with EU limits.
2. Annual framework contract signed: The client finalized a 31-ton annual natamycin procurement contract delivered in 9 monthly batches. The comprehensive procurement cost of customized modified domestic products fell by 30.3% compared with imported Dutch raw materials, saving over 82,000 euros in annual raw material procurement expenses.
3. Market product launch: Optimized cheese products successfully entered high-end premium supermarkets across Spain and France, with terminal sales of new products rising 19% year-on-year within three months of launch.
Successfully completed localized replacement of natamycin raw materials, recovering economic losses from previously scrapped products and breaking free from supply chain risks of surging European raw material prices and uncontrollable delivery times. Cheese qualified production yield rose from 73.5% before rectification to 99.3%, supporting sustained expansion into organic cheese markets across multiple EU countries relying on a stable antibacterial system.
Leveraging the benchmark European high-end cheese order, standardized production processes for modified granular natamycin were finalized. Customized products commanded a premium over standard bulk goods, escaping low-price domestic market competition. Endorsed by this client, manufacturers subsequently secured procurement orders from three mid-to-high-end dairy enterprises in Italy and Portugal.
A standardized technical service system for natamycin foreign trade was established covering client working condition diagnosis, targeted raw material fine-tuning, category-specific compound formula optimization, workshop production process rectification, incoming quality control implementation and long-term after-sales technical follow-up. Differentiated foreign trade competitiveness was built through integrated formula and process technical services, enabling continuous provision of supporting technical services for natural preservatives to mid-to-high-end dairy raw material clients across Southern Europe.
Most domestic natamycin manufacturers focus on mass production of standard national standard powder products, with carrier and particle physical properties designed for low-end domestic dairy demand, lacking modification optimization tailored for high-end European cheese scenarios. High-end overseas cheese enterprises have formulas and production lines long adapted to modified imported natamycin from Europe; direct replacement with standard domestic raw materials easily triggers multiple failures in compatibility, production processes and antibacterial performance. Supported by fine chemical and food application technical reserves, HiSiaddi bridges compatibility gaps between physical properties of domestic raw materials and overseas end-production demands, achieving a three-way win-win outcome through low-cost raw material fine-tuning plus formula and process optimization. This case represents a typical successful model for domestically produced natamycin to penetrate mid-to-high-end European dairy product markets.
For more formula optimization consulting services, please contact HiSiaddi customer service.
+86-13120989737 
info@hisiaddi.com 
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