[News from Members] A Swedish rennet project!
Innovation rennet from Swedish ruminants – goat, sheep and calf. Production and development
Rennet from non-cow ruminants is not available on the market today. This has limited the possibilities of small-scale farm dairies to produce high-quality cheeses with unique properties and added value. The aim of the project was to develop a Swedish innovation rennet adapted for species-specific milk, as the conventional rennet is optimized for cow’s milk and not for other milk sources as e.g., sheep and goat. One aim was also to preserve the knowledge about rennet manufacture in general, as Sacco System Nordic AB shuts down rennet production and with this the availability of commercial rennet will be limited.
The Swedish Farmhouse and artisan cheese producers’ organization
Sveriges Gårdsmejerister have been working in a project trying to find
methods and knowledge to produce rennet produced in Sweden using
stomachs from Swedish animals.
The goal of this project is to produce species specific rennet’s from
goat kids, lambs and calves, bread and slaughtered in Sweden. The
project includes production, evaluation and optimization of the rennet’s
from these ruminants, as well as evaluation of their application in
cheesemaking processes.
The project has been ongoing from 2023-03-31 until april 2025, in a collaboration between the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Swedish farmhouse dairy producers and Scandirenn Kemikalia AB.
The project is part of the European Innovation Partnership, EIP-Agri, and is financed by the Swedish Board of Agriculture and EU.
Solution: The project has resulted in successful development and optimization of the method for production of innovation rennet adapted for species-specific milk. The knowledge about the rennet production is now preserved among the small-scale dairy farmers who will continue with their own invention in the future. This will strengthen the competitiveness of small-scale dairies, contribute to product differentiation on the market and secures Sweden’s food supply during possible crises.