Serac has recently launched a range of long shelf life processed cheese for use in its ration and Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) packs.

CEO Stephen Weir said “we have always been constrained by the cheese element in the Ration packs as current offerings in South Africa only had a shelf life of 9 months. Using technology used in the USA we are able to offer cheese with a shelf life of 2 years and with the introduction of new machinery in July this will be extended to 3 years

Processed cheese (also known as prepared cheese, cheese product, or cheese singles) is a food product made from cheese(and sometimes other, unfermented dairy ingredients); plus emulsifiers, saturated vegetable oils, extra salt, food colorings and flavorings and sugar. As a result, many flavors, colors, and textures of processed cheese exist. Its invention is credited to Walter Gerber of Switzerland, in 1911.

Processed cheese has several technical advantages over traditional cheese, including:

• Longer shelf life resistance to separating when cooked; and a uniform look and physical behavior.
• Its mass-produced nature provides arguably its greatest advantage over natural cheese.
• a dramatically lower cost than conventional cheese

To attain the required shelf life of 3 years we only select the finest cheddar cheese specially prepared for this process and we blend these in to ensure the true cheese taste and consistency. To ensure the shelf life we subject it to ultra-high temperature (UHT) at high pressure to ensure the product is sterilized and then pack it at a high temperature to ensure all bacteria on the surface of the packaging are removed

Serac has chosen a high barrier film laminate of PET 12 mic/Aluminum Foil 9 mic/ and polyethylene to ensure the product is protected for its lifespan. Seals are especially wide to ensure great integrity

Ingredients Cheese (cow’s milk, salt, calcium chloride, selected cheese cultures, non-animal rennet), Water, Butter (cream, acidity regulator), Reconstituted milk solids (whey), Emulsifying salts, Thickeners, Flavouring, Salt, Preservatives (potassium sorbate, nisin), Acidity regulator, Colourant.

Nutritional Information (Per 100g)

Energy - 1174
Protein - 16g
Fat - 23G
Carbohydrates 7.6g