Cheese industry performance touches farmers, processors, retailers, and consumers across major dairy regions. From ripening biochemistry and starter cultures to rennet coagulation and brining parameters, technical choices shape yield, moisture, and salt uptake. Regulation and compliance also influence quality and safety—from HTST pasteurization (72°C for 15 seconds) to monitoring for hazards like aflatoxin M1 and Listeria limits. This page connects production, processing, packaging, and trade data to the outcomes you care about.
Key Takeaways
- 8.3 million tonnes of cheese were produced globally in 2022, representing about a 1% share of world milk production by weight
- Enzymatic proteolysis during ripening increases soluble nitrogen; typical ripening measurable endpoints include total nitrogen increases in soluble fractions by months of aging
- Cheesemaking typically uses starter cultures containing specific LAB species (commonly Lactococcus and Streptococcus) to achieve targeted acidification rates within hours
- Rennet coagulation reduces milk casein micelles to form the gel; standard full-cream cow’s milk reaches curd set typically within 20–40 minutes depending on temperature and dose
- Salt (NaCl) is a direct consumable in cheesemaking; many hard cheese recipes use brine with 18–23% NaCl, making salt a measurable input that can be tracked in cost structures
- A 1% reduction in moisture content in aged cheese can reduce weight loss during ripening and improve yield consistency by shifting water migration kinetics (process sensitivity study)
- Brining increases salt uptake; higher NaCl concentrations can increase yield of packaged cheese and reduce microbial spoilage, lowering expected loss costs (quantified in brine mass transfer studies)
- Plant-based/cheese alternatives are growing quickly; in the US, non-dairy cheese retail sales exceeded $1 billion in 2023 (industry tracker figure)
- In the EU, 2022 non-food safety requirements for packaging include limits on heavy metals and migration rules impacting cheese packaging formulations and compliance costs
- The European Commission set a maximum permitted limit for aflatoxin M1 in milk at 0.05 µg/kg, which affects compliance testing and processing for milk destined for cheese
- The EU sets maximum permitted levels for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods to support safety frameworks, with regulated process hygiene criteria used for enforcement
- US Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) HTST standard requires 72°C for at least 15 seconds for high-temperature, short-time pasteurization
- The U.S. Dairy Product Trade data show that cheese import volumes exceeded 1.0 million tonnes in 2023 (aggregate), reflecting substantial net import flows for cheese in the U.S. market
- Cheese accounts for 8.0% of total global food loss and waste within the dairy group by mass in a commonly cited global food waste assessment dataset (dairy subgroup allocation)
- Dairy processing effluent is a high-strength wastewater: typical influent BOD for dairies is often reported in the range of 1,500–10,000 mg/L, which drives high treatment loads for cheesemaking facilities
In 2022, 8.3 million tonnes of cheese were produced worldwide, with key quality shaped by ripening, salt, and pasteurization rules.
Related reading
01 · Category
Regulation & Safety9 stats
01
The European Commission set a maximum permitted limit for aflatoxin M1 in milk at 0.05 µg/kg, which affects compliance testing and processing for milk destined for cheesehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2006/1881/oj
02
The EU sets maximum permitted levels for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods to support safety frameworks, with regulated process hygiene criteria used for enforcementhttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2005/2073/oj
03
US Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) HTST standard requires 72°C for at least 15 seconds for high-temperature, short-time pasteurizationhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-131/section-131.5
04
FSMA Preventive Controls rule covers domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for U.S. consumption; compliance includes hazard analysis and preventive controls for microbial hazards including those relevant to cheesehttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-117
05
EU Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on food hygiene requires HACCP-based procedures for food business operators, including cheese makers and handlershttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/852/oj
06
EU Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 sets specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, including requirements relevant to milk and dairy product production and storagehttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/853/oj
07
EU Regulation 2017/625 establishes official controls and other activities performed to ensure compliance, including for dairy and cheese traceability testinghttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2017/625/oj
08
The EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) recorded 3,000+ alerts in 2022, a subset of which involves dairy products including cheese-related safety notificationshttps://food.ec.europa.eu/safety/rasff_en
09
In 2022, the EFSA reported that Campylobacter, Salmonella, and Listeria remain leading causes of reported foodborne illness across Europe, underpinning ongoing surveillance relevant to dairy productshttps://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/7203
Interpretation
Regulation & Safety Interpretation
Across Regulation and Safety, cheese producers face tightly defined compliance benchmarks, from the EU’s strict 0.05 µg/kg maximum for aflatoxin M1 in milk to HACCP mandated by EU Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and pasteurization requirements like the US PMO 72°C for 15 seconds under HTST standards.
02 · Category
Production & Technology8 stats
01
Enzymatic proteolysis during ripening increases soluble nitrogen; typical ripening measurable endpoints include total nitrogen increases in soluble fractions by months of aginghttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4793738/
02
Cheesemaking typically uses starter cultures containing specific LAB species (commonly Lactococcus and Streptococcus) to achieve targeted acidification rates within hourshttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02963/full
03
Rennet coagulation reduces milk casein micelles to form the gel; standard full-cream cow’s milk reaches curd set typically within 20–40 minutes depending on temperature and dosehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9781845692087500021
04
For pasteurized milk cheese production, regulatory requirement is 72°C for 15 seconds (US HTST standard), which influences microbial survival and starter-driven acidificationhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-9/chapter-I/subchapter-E/part-133/section-133.10
05
Dry matter targets for hard/semi-hard cheeses often range from ~52% to ~65% depending on style, directly setting texture and aging kineticshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6857443/
06
Cheese syneresis typically results in a mass loss (whey expulsion) on the order of 30–50% relative to milk used, determining final moisture and yieldhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19476337.2018.1549977
07
Carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by starter activity contributes to texture defects in some cheeses; managing gas formation can reduce late gas formation risk by controlling pH drop and storage temperaturehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030214001732
08
Vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging are widely used for sliced cheese; oxygen levels are typically reduced to <1–2% O2 to limit oxidative rancidity and mold growthhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6790218/
Interpretation
Production & Technology Interpretation
In production and technology for cheese, controlled processing parameters like ripening end points that raise total nitrogen, rennet curd set in about 20–40 minutes, and HTST pasteurization at 72°C for 15 seconds are tightly linked to measurable outputs such as hard cheese dry matter targets of roughly 52 to 65 percent and syneresis whey loss of about 30 to 50 percent.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis5 stats
01
Salt (NaCl) is a direct consumable in cheesemaking; many hard cheese recipes use brine with 18–23% NaCl, making salt a measurable input that can be tracked in cost structureshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713509000357
02
A 1% reduction in moisture content in aged cheese can reduce weight loss during ripening and improve yield consistency by shifting water migration kinetics (process sensitivity study)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030219302358
03
Brining increases salt uptake; higher NaCl concentrations can increase yield of packaged cheese and reduce microbial spoilage, lowering expected loss costs (quantified in brine mass transfer studies)https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224405000981
04
Packaging contributes to cost and waste; for fresh/chilled dairy, plastic film is a major share of packaging mass, often exceeding 30% of packaging materials by weight for certain formats (life-cycle assessments report this share)https://www.empa.ch/documents/18637/20170415_EMPA_Packaging_LCA_Dairy.pdf
05
Wastewater from dairies contains high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD); treatment reduces BOD load by >90% in effective biological systems, lowering potential compliance and disposal costshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135404001461
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
For cost analysis in cheesemaking, controlling brining and moisture is directly tied to measurable yield and waste reductions, since many hard cheese recipes use 18 to 23% NaCl and a 1% lower moisture content can improve ripening yield consistency while brining helps reduce microbial spoilage costs.
More related reading
04 · Category
Processing & Quality3 stats
01
Hard/semi-hard cheeses typically reach a pH around 5.0–5.3 at end of brining/early ripening, with later ripening often continuing to lower pH slightly; this pH range is documented across standard cheese composition referenceshttps://www.dairyprocessinghandbook.com/cheese-ph
02
Salt uptake during brining is measurable: a multi-visit brining study reports final NaCl contents increasing by several percentage points over typical brining durations, demonstrating strong time-dependent mass transfer into cheesehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713518312050
03
Vacuum packaging for sliced cheese is widely used to extend shelf life; industry shelf-life studies for vacuum-packed cheese commonly report 30–60 days of refrigerated shelf life depending on cheese type and hygiene conditionshttps://www.wiley.com/en-us/Packaging+for+Food+Shelf+Life+Extension%2C+2nd+Edition-p-9780470689874
Interpretation
Processing & Quality Interpretation
Across Processing and Quality, hard and semi hard cheeses typically end brining at a pH of about 5.0 to 5.3 while salt uptake during brining increases final NaCl by several percentage points, and vacuum packaging then helps maintain quality by extending shelf life for sliced cheese.
05 · Category
Industry Trends2 stats
01
Plant-based/cheese alternatives are growing quickly; in the US, non-dairy cheese retail sales exceeded $1 billion in 2023 (industry tracker figure)https://www.plantbasedfoods.org/research
02
In the EU, 2022 non-food safety requirements for packaging include limits on heavy metals and migration rules impacting cheese packaging formulations and compliance costshttps://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/1935/oj
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends show that plant based cheese alternatives are rapidly gaining ground, with US non dairy cheese retail sales topping $1 billion in 2023, while EU packaging rules tightening heavy metal and migration limits are also pushing change across cheese packaging.
06 · Category
Overview10 stats
01
Cheese accounts for 8.0% of total global food loss and waste within the dairy group by mass in a commonly cited global food waste assessment dataset (dairy subgroup allocation)https://www.fao.org/3/cc8156en/cc8156en.pdf
02
Dairy processing effluent is a high-strength wastewater: typical influent BOD for dairies is often reported in the range of 1,500–10,000 mg/L, which drives high treatment loads for cheesemaking facilitieshttps://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-08/documents/pretreatment-standards-dairy.pdf
03
Cheese consumption is linked to dairy health studies: in one large epidemiologic analysis, higher dairy intake is associated with modest differences in cardiometabolic outcomes, with cheese often included within the fermented dairy subgroup (reported effect sizes vary by subgroup)https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1312501
04
Fermented dairy biomarkers: studies of fermented dairy (including cheese) report measurable increases in circulating metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, though the effect magnitude depends on dose and baseline diet (results reported in peer-reviewed nutritional studies)https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/112/2/383/5515901
05
Foodborne illness burden: reported listeriosis incidence in the EU has historically averaged around 2–3 cases per million people per year, with higher risk in older adults; this is used for risk management context relevant to RTE dairy including cheesehttps://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/supporting/pub/1730e
06
FSIS-related recall data show that dairy products including cheese appear among categories with recurring consumer recalls; for 2022–2023, hundreds of dairy-related recalls were issued in the U.S. across FDA/USDA recall systems (counting consumer-level recall notices)https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls
07
Cheese production is energy-intensive: industrial dairy plants often report total energy use on the order of 1–3 MJ per kg of milk processed depending on plant type and heat recovery; cheesemaking facilities fall within this processing rangehttps://www.iea.org/reports/heat-and-cooling-for-industry-technology-and-innovation
08
Fluence of heat recovery: modern dairy heat recovery systems can reduce steam demand by 20–50% in facilities with properly designed plate heat exchangers and recovery circuits, lowering operational costs for cheesemakinghttps://www.dairyprocessinghandbook.com/heat-recovery
09
8.3 million tonnes of cheese were produced globally in 2022, representing about a 1% share of world milk production by weighthttps://www.fao.org/3/cc2273en/cc2273en.pdf
10
The U.S. Dairy Product Trade data show that cheese import volumes exceeded 1.0 million tonnes in 2023 (aggregate), reflecting substantial net import flows for cheese in the U.S. markethttps://apps.ams.usda.gov/MarketNews/viewContent.do?contentId=43963
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
From an industry overview perspective, cheese and the broader dairy sector are tightly linked to notable sustainability and safety pressures, with cheese making up 8.0% of global food loss and waste within dairy by mass and dairy processing wastewater commonly reaching 1,500 to 10,000 mg of influent BOD.
Reference
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APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Cheese Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cheese-industry-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Cheese Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cheese-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Cheese Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cheese-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
37 datasets cited across this report
+18 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)