Idsm-firmenich, a global company in nutrition, health and beauty, has won the Product Launches and Research & Development awards in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards for its latest enzyme innovation, Maxiren®EVO.
The Just Food Excellence Awards honor the most significant achievements and innovations in the food industry. Powered by GlobalData’s business intelligence, the Awards recognize the people and companies leading positive change and shaping the future of the industry. dsm-firmenich won the Product Launches award in the Cheese Processing Enzymes category for introducing a novel coagulant enzyme that addresses key challenges in cheesemaking. Additionally, dsm-firmenich received the Research & Development award for its pioneering work in enzyme engineering that enhances both cheese quality and sustainability.
“We’re truly honored to receive these awards, which highlight our team’s relentless commitment to advancing enzyme innovation for cheesemakers worldwide. Maxiren®EVO is the result of years of precision engineering and collaboration – an investment that demonstrates dsm-firmenich’s dedication to progressing the future of the cheesemaking industry. This recognition reaffirms our leadership in delivering solutions that raise the bar for quality, sustainability, and customer value – and there will be more to come as we continue to drive enzyme innovation.”
– Evandro Oliveira de Souza, Global Senior Vice-President Cheese Business Unit, dsm-firmenich
Advancing cheese texture and yield with Maxiren®EVO
Developed to meet the increasingly complex demands of today’s cheese producers, Maxiren®EVO represents a significant step forward in coagulant enzyme technology. Utilizing advanced fermentation processes, Maxiren®EVO is a 100% pure chymosin enzyme that specifically targets alpha S1-casein (αS1-casein), converting it into αS1-i-casein. This targeted action results in rapid curd knitting, superior water binding, and improved moisture distribution throughout the cheese. These features enable cheesemakers to achieve a consistent, high-quality texture and flavor, while also increasing cheese yield from the same volume of milk—an important factor for operational efficiency and resource management.
The enzyme’s low proteolytic activity ensures that cheese maintains its structure and smoothness throughout its shelf life, reducing cutting losses and minimizing stickiness or texture degradation. This stability allows for early slicing and shredding, providing manufacturers with greater flexibility and efficiency in their processing operations. The ability to process and sell cheese earlier and throughout its shelf life supports better inventory management and reduces waste, which is especially valuable in large-scale cheese production.
Enhancing cheese functionality, appearance, and processing flexibility
Maxiren®EVO also delivers notable improvements in cheese functionality and appearance, which are increasingly important in consumer-facing applications like pizza and ready-to-eat meals. By improving water distribution and fat emulsification, the enzyme ensures that cheese melts evenly, resulting in a consistent, golden color with less overall browning, and long, smooth strands when baked. This is particularly valuable for mozzarella, where stretchability and melt quality are critical for end-user satisfaction.
The enzyme helps prevent common challenges such as hot spots and oiling off by maintaining protein integrity. Maxiren®EVO is engineered to perform well at low pH levels, making it especially suitable for fast-processing cheese varieties such as mozzarella, where pre-acidification is standard. Additionally, the enzyme leaves no residual activity after processing, which is crucial for maximizing whey value and enabling its use in other food and nutritional applications. Maxiren®EVO can also be paired with Delvo®Cheese CP-500 cultures to further increase mozzarella yield without compromising quality, offering cheesemakers a comprehensive solution for optimizing both product performance and operational efficiency.
Precision enzyme engineering for flavor and sustainability
dsm-firmenich’s recognition in Research & Development is rooted in its commitment to precision enzyme engineering and sustainable production practices. Maxiren®EVO’s highly specific mode of action on αS1-casein not only improves texture and yield but also plays a pivotal role in flavor development. By stimulating the formation of desirable flavor compounds and avoiding excessive proteolysis, the enzyme helps produce cheeses with a clean, robust taste profile free from bitterness—a key differentiator in premium cheese markets.
The enzyme’s ability to increase moisture retention by up to 1.7% is particularly significant from a sustainability perspective. Higher moisture retention means that more cheese can be produced from the same quantity of milk, reducing the overall environmental footprint of cheese production. According to dsm-firmenich’s data, this improvement can lead to a reduction in carbon emissions of approximately 1.6% compared to first-generation fermentation-produced coagulants. For manufacturers facing increasing regulatory and consumer pressure to minimize environmental impact, such gains are highly valuable. Maxiren®EVO also supports efficient resource utilization beyond the cheese itself by ensuring no residual enzyme activity remains after processing, enabling the production of high-quality whey for use in value-added products.
“Innovation is at the heart of everything we do. Maxiren®EVO exemplifies how advanced science, market knowledge, and purposeful collaboration can create transformative solutions for cheesemakers worldwide. At dsm-firmenich, we’re always looking to develop the next transformative solution to help our customers stay ahead in an ever-evolving market.”
– Vicky Sereti, Director, Innovation Cheese, dsm-firmenich
Technical expertise and tailored support for cheesemakers
Beyond product innovation, dsm-firmenich distinguishes itself through comprehensive technical support and partnership with cheesemakers. The company offers a suite of services designed to help clients optimize their production processes, including process scans, coagulation optimization, and troubleshooting support. These services are tailored to the specific needs of each manufacturer, ensuring that specific goals can be met in diverse production environments.
This hands-on approach helps manufacturers adapt to changing market demands, regulatory requirements, and consumer preferences, while maintaining high standards of product quality and operational efficiency. By combining advanced enzyme and culture engineering with innovative dairy testing solutions and practical, on-the-ground support, dsm-firmenich positions itself as a trusted partner for the cheese industry and supports continuous improvement and innovation across the sector.
“Winning in both Product Launches and R&D categories is a significant validation of our mission to shape a more sustainable future for food production. We’re proud to stand alongside our partners in the cheese industry by offering cutting-edge ingredient innovation and expert guidance to help meet evolving consumer and environmental expectations.”
– Ardy van Erp, Business Director Cheese, dsm-firmenich
Company Profile
As innovators in nutrition, health, and beauty, dsm-firmenich reinvents, manufactures, and combines vital nutrients, flavors, and fragrances for the world’s growing population to thrive. With its comprehensive range of solutions, with natural and renewable ingredients and renowned science and technology capabilities, dsm-firmenich works to create what is essential for life, desirable for consumers, and more sustainable for the planet.
dsm-firmenich is a Swiss company with dual headquarters in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland and Maastricht, Netherlands, listed on the Euronext Amsterdam, with operations in almost 60 countries and revenues of more than €12 billion.
Contact Details
Ardy van Erp, Business Director Cheese, dsm-firmenich
Ardy.Erp-van@dsm-firmenich.com
Links
Website: www.dsm-firmenich.com
