Silver is a powerful antimicrobial metal ion. Fig. 1 shows the ion exchange process.

Zeolite crystals containing silver ions are randomly oriented and distributed through the surface of a polymer or coating. In conditions that support bacterial growth, the sodium ions, in ambient moisture, exchange with silver ions at reversible bonding sites on the zeolite. The exchanged silver ions are now available to control microbial growth by releasing silver ions to the surface at a slow and steady rate.
Effectiveness has been shown to provide mould efficacy within two hours, while maintaining optimal performances for years.

The current systems employed to prevent mould on cheese surface use antimicrobial/antimould substances based on water polymers and specific organic preservatives, such as pimaricine and/or sorbic acid with its derivatives.
Such organic active principles once applied on the cheese surface tend to migrate to their inside, affecting negatively the organoleptic properties and generating possible risks for the consumer.

AgPOLYMER^® has the characteristic of allowing an optimal gaseous exchange in maturing, absorbing oxygen, expelling carbonic gas and the water vapour.
It has an optimal permeability that allows these gases to have a good evolution in the time, maintaining the correct control of weight decrease.

For years our research has concentrated its efforts in producing cheese coating more and more neutral with a peculiar attention for Human Health. Our job and our synergies have been focused to prevent the cheeses treated with our products to be polluted through the migration of substances released from the same coating, either preservatives or other substances.

AgPOLYMER^® completes what our company has been realizing for years in the field of cheese coating. It is the result of years of study. It is a polymer of last generation without stabilizers, coalescents, bactericides and organic preservatives.

The antimicrobials/mould active principle has a natural origin but has a great effectiveness and is absolute healthy, it’s Silver Ion based.

Our tests have underlined that anti-mould action is greater and better distributed because is produced by the release of silver ions contained in the zeolites on the surface of treated cheeses, preserving them also from eventual pollutions caused by viruses and bacteria during ripening/storage and by operator handling from treatment to sale.

Together with a good drying, a control of the ripening rooms as far as relative moisture and temperature are concerned, optimal results concerning prevention of moulds on the surfaces are obtained, having nothing to declare on the label.