Sourcing starter cultures in Canada

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Sourcing starter cultures in Canada

Post by Shuswap » Fri Dec 05, 2014 05:38

Gray Goat wrote:Great point Bob. I used the T-SPX culture and the center was a bit soft even after a weight loss of 38%. I will try the F-RM-52 if I make more pepperoni
Interesting! I've only seen the T-SPX culture on the Umai site, which means finding a different suppier for the F-RM-52 which would be hard to locate here in northland but maybe Red will know of a Cdn supplier.
Last edited by Shuswap on Mon Dec 29, 2014 17:14, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by redzed » Fri Dec 05, 2014 06:17

Phil, F-RM-52 is a Chr. Hansen product and to the best of my knowledge not available for purchase to Canada. Butcher and Packer and the Sausagemaker sell the Chr. Hansen line in the US and they might ship to you. But why not use Mondostart 2M from Stuffers? Very good medium acidification culture and only 8 bucks for a 25g packet. On the other hand, if you want the T-SPX to work a little faster, ferment at 80F rather than 70-72.

Halfords in Calagary also sells three other types of Mondostart cultures and Canada Compound in Toronto sells Gewürzmüller - BITEC Starter Cultures in small packets. Four different Danisco cultures are available from Malabar in Canada. I am also trying to find out whether Sacco and Wiberg cultures might be available to us. Chr. Hansen is not the only game playing.
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Post by Devo » Fri Dec 05, 2014 13:09

These cultures can be bought in Canada at the places Red mentioned

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Post by Shuswap » Fri Dec 05, 2014 15:31

redzed wrote:Chr. Hansen is not the only game playing.
Red, Devo thanks for the replies. I just don't get why Chr. Hansen is tied up in Canada with the one distributor who won't ship west, which probably explains why Stuffers doesn't handle it. I haven't tried the mondostart simply because the science of cultures is a bit over my head but if its good enough for you Chris it ought to be for me too :smile:
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Post by Devo » Fri Dec 05, 2014 19:19

Shuswap
When I first started using cultures I ordered from sausagemaker.com. They ship to Canada no problem and the price works out pretty much the same for me if I ordered from stuffers. I find their shipping rates to be out of this world for Canada. If I place an order with them I always make sure I get my moneys worth.
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Post by redzed » Sun Dec 07, 2014 17:49

I contacted Chr. Hansen and raised our concerns about their cultures not being available to hobbyists in Canada. They replied that the distributor here is BSA Food Ingredients, with operations in Montreal and Mississauga. I am now awaiting a reply from them. There is no reason why they can't arrange for a Canadian retailer to sell their cultures to us, especially since the darned stuff is already available in small packets and sold all over the world.
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Post by Bob K » Sun Dec 07, 2014 18:15

There is also a discussion on substituting Mondostart for Chr. Hansen products here:
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=6404

MondoStart 06 - For faster processing due to fast acidification with appealing colour and perfect texture. Very good for preventing Fat Oxidation. 25 grams....
.
MondoStart 2M - Medium Acidification and Texturizing speed, good colour intensity and stability. Inhibition of contaminating microflora through competitive exclusion. Acidification speed and final pH controlled in relation to ripening condition, sugars, temperature and time. 25 grams.....

Mondostart SP -- A unique blend of over 4 different bacteria together with yeast for a mild acid taste, enhanced colour and full flavor and aroma. 10 grams....

MondoStart Classic - Provides excellent and stable colour with a moderate acidifying power ideal for small to medium caliber dry sausages (e.g. Chorizo). Especially beneficial in low temperature processing and for large caliber sliced products. 10 grams.....
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bactoferm versus Mondostart

Post by ajwillsnet » Sun Dec 28, 2014 23:25

I am interested in trying my hand at making the pepperoni recipe in the Umai site, but I can't get Bactoferm here in Canada. Cam Mondostart culture be substituted?
Thanks,

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Post by Bob K » Mon Dec 29, 2014 00:13

Bert-
As Devo stated , yes you can.

There is some info here: http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopi ... mondostart
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Post by redzed » Mon Dec 29, 2014 06:56

Hey Bert it's great to hear from you! We were kind of worried that you might have abandoned sausagemaking and taken up a useless hobby such as building birdhouses or polishing rocks!

As to your question whether you can use Mondostart to make the pepperoni, yes of course you can. I noticed that the Umai recipe recommends T-SPX which is a slow acting culture producing a mild Southern European flavour. The appropriate Mondostart culture here would be Mondostart Classic but if you ferment at 22-24°C Mondostart 2M should also work well. Stuffer's sells Mondostart 2M for only 8 bucks, but they do not carry Mondostart Classic. You can get it from either one of two Calgary suppliers: Halford's and DnR Sausage supplies. Looks like DnR has a better price for the 25g sachet, but I don't know about their shipping charges.

I have been using Mondostart cultures for over two years and am quite happy with them. Mondostart cultures are made by Danisco France, a well established and reputable manufacturer. I used to bring Chr. Hansen from the States when spending time there in the winter. I'm in Arizona currently and this year I will not be ordering any Bactoferm products. They are way overpriced and there are other cultures that are just as good or better.
Last edited by redzed on Mon Dec 29, 2014 18:12, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by redzed » Mon Dec 29, 2014 18:07

This is an update to my efforts over that past month to find out why the small sachets of Chr. Hansen Bacoferm starter cultures are not available in Canada. I first contacted The Chr. Hansen head office in Denmark who then redirected my enquiry to the United States office. I received a response from Mr. David Burrington, Sales Manager - Food Cultures and Enzymes, who advised me that BSA Canada, with offices in Ontario and Quebec is their meat culture distributor in Canada. So I wrote to them and after 10 days of silence, I wrote to Burrington again. It has now been two weeks and I still have not heard anything from either party.

Are we to assume that Chr. Hansen is not really interested in developing the Canadian market or do they consider the hobbyist numbers too insignificant to serve us?

The most popular Bactoferm cultures used by home sausage makers and small producers are T-SPX, F-RM-52, F-LC, LHP and B-LC 007. These cultures are all manufactured in the United States in Milwaukee. It is also interesting to note that only LHP and F-LC are on the list of accepted starter cultures issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. It appears that Chr. Hansen did not apply to have the other three approved. This may also mean that those of us who have been been getting T-SPX, F-RM-52 and B-LC 007 from American purveyors have been violating Canadian import laws! :shock:
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Post by redzed » Sat Jan 03, 2015 07:52

French Danisco meat starter cultures are sold in Canada by Malabar Super Spices. Check out the cultures here:

http://www.malabarsuperspice.com/danisco.htm

Doris Valade, company president, was kind enough to provide me with product specification sheets for three of the cultures: TEXEL®SA-241, TEXEL®SP Elite (20g $16.30 ), TEXEL®SP362 (100g $25.75).

If anyone is interested in any of the spec sheets, please PM me with your email address and I will be happy to send them to you.
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Post by Shuswap » Sun Jan 04, 2015 16:39

redzed wrote:French Danisco meat starter cultures are sold in Canada by Malabar Super Spices.
Red, did you happen to ask if they ship small quantities. When I asked last year I didn't get a reply. I really like their resource pages posted on their site.
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Post by redzed » Mon Jan 05, 2015 18:32

Hi Phil,
SP-Elite and SP-362 are in stock and available. SA-241 is not, but can be ordered in bulk, that is 10 sachets at a time. Give Doris a call. I don't know what the shipping costs are, but if you find out, please post.

And as I mentioned earlier, The Mondostart line is also made by Danisco.
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Post by redzed » Wed Jan 28, 2015 19:07

Canada Compound, Toronto Office:

391 Rowntree Dairy Road
Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
L4L 8H1
Tel: 905-856-5005
Toll Free: 1 866-787-0002

They carry cutures made in Germany by Gewürzmüller (now part of Frutarom)

Starter Cultures Available:

Bitec LS 25 - Fast fermentation 50g $14.28
Bitec LM 1 - For slow matured Italian style products 50g. $14.35
Bitec RP 3 - For solid muscle meats - 50g. 14.35

There is some info on these cultures here:
https://borglunds.files.wordpress.com/2 ... lturer.pdf

I also obtained spec sheets, if you want a copy PM me with your email address and I will send them to you in PDF format.

I am out of T-SPX and I am ticked off that Chr. Hansen and their Canadian Distributor, BSA are not interested in making these cultures available here, so I will no longer be going out of my way to use Bactoferm products. And with our shrinking dollar it now is not worth ordering anything from below the 49. Today I ordered a packet of LM 1 and will give it a shot. The price is very fair for a 50g. packet which should last me for a year or more, but the shipping is atrocious. I paid $23.69 for express post. Higher cost of course for shipping from Ontario to BC, so it should be less if you are closer.
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