Glitch doesn’t sour dairy’s outlook

WASILLA — Malfunctioning equipment at Matanuska Creamery that caused some milk to expire last week before the date printed on its containers has been resolved and production is running smoothly again, said creamery manager Kyle Beus.

Matanuska Creamery milk bought from local stores was safe to drink, Beus said, but expired more quickly than it should have because of the malfunction.

A sequencing problem with the factory’s pastuerizer, homogenizer and separator was the root of the problem, he said. “They weren’t working in sequence as good as I needed or wanted them to. It was causing some issues.”

Beus said he and the engineer who helped design the factory, Neal Sanders of Seattle-based Nether Industries, worked together to fix the problem and began turning out more milk a short time after the malfunction was found.

“As soon as we realized we had an issue, we got it fixed immediately,” Beus said.

The creamery also sent people to collect the affected milk from store shelves, Beus said. A representative at the Palmer Fred Meyer confirmed two representatives from the creamery took everything they had from the cooler.

Sequence problems like the one Matanuska Creamery experienced are common when new plants begin operation, Sanders said, calling the problem a “start-up issue.”

He added since the affected milk was pasteurized it was bacteria free and didn’t pose a health threat.

Still in its infancy, Matanuska Creamery has been churning out jugs of milk and filling shelves of local stores since May. Milk is sold locally at Fred Meyer stores, Three Bears and Shop Rite.

Beus said sales have been “cruising along.”

The hiccup in production that caused some customers to return their milk to stores last week hasn’t seemed to dampen Beus’ forward-looking business philosophy. The creamery is also producing cheddar cheese and is introducing its own ice cream this week.

The ice cream, which, like the creamery’s milk, will originate from local cows, will be a high-quality ice cream mix, Beus said. He’s already tested flavors like vanilla, Alaska birch and Alaska blueberry. The ice cream will initially be sold at Teelands in Wasilla and at the creamery on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

The product will eventually hit store shelves in premium pints, Beus said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiers- man.com or 352-2252.