Senior Research Associate

1. Starter culture performance evaluation

• Monitor pH, titratable acidity, fermentation time and acidification rate.
• Evaluate texture, viscosity, syneresis and sensory characteristics.
• Check consistency of culture performance between batches.
• Identify reasons for slow or abnormal fermentation.

2. Culture selection and recommendation

• Select appropriate mesophilic, thermophilic or mixed cultures according to the dairy application.
• Recommend suitable culture combinations for particular products.
• Evaluate culture compatibility and performance in different milk conditions.

3. Troubleshooting
   When a customer or production team reports problems such as:

• Slow acid development
• Poor setting
• Weak texture
• Excessive syneresis
• Off-flavour
• Gas formation
• Inconsistent fermentation

the Dairy Technologist investigates the cause and recommends corrective action.

1. Pilot and scale-up trials

• Conduct laboratory and pilot-scale dairy trials.
• Transfer successful laboratory trials to larger-scale production.
• Work with production teams during scale-up.
• Optimize processing parameters to achieve reproducible results.

2. Quality-control support

• Coordinate with microbiology/QC teams for culture activity and purity testing.
• Review test results and investigate deviations.
• Verify that DVS cultures meet defined specifications before release.
• Participate in shelf-life and stability studies.