Some facts about cheese are unnecessary to contemplate.
Some facts about cheese are unnecessary to contemplate.
Where does the blue in blue cheese come from? Mold. But it’s harmless mold, so enjoy!
Another question about cheese sounds philosophical but is practical: If you buy a container of 100 percent grated Parmesan, is that really all you’re getting?
Probably not.
Depending on the manufacturer, there’s an extra ingredient in store-bought grated cheese that’s safe to consume but still a bit mysterious.
It’s cellulose, a tasteless anti-clumping agent derived from the cell walls of plants.
If you want to be dramatic about it, as some news reports have, you’re eating wood pulp. Really, it’s just a dash of ground-up plant fiber added to grated cheese so it will pour easily.
The reason for contemplating Parmesan, and not just sprinkling it, is that Bloomberg News did some lab tests calling into question the quality of some grated cheese. Bloomberg identified several common brands of grated 100 percent Parmesan cheese that contained as much as 8 percent cellulose.
The Food and Drug Administration says cheese manufacturers generally are allowed to add anti-caking agents such as cellulose at a rate of up to 2 percent by weight. If you’re confused about how a product can be 100 percent Parmesan but also contain 2 percent cellulose, the math does work out. The “100 percent Parmesan” tag refers to the fact that you’re buying pure Parmesan, not a mix of different cheeses.
Bloomberg’s tests identified several brands as exceeding the 2 percent level.
Essential Everyday 100 percent Grated Parmesan Cheese from the Jewel-Osco grocery chain in the Chicago area had 8.8 percent cellulose, and Wal-Mart’s Great Value 100 percent Grated Parmesan Cheese contained 7.8 percent. Spokesmen from each company sounded taken aback by the lab findings and indicated they would investigate. On Friday, Jewel-Osco said it was pulling its brand from shelves.
The reason a manufacturer might fool with ingredients, of course, is cost. Parmesan is expensive to make because it loses moisture and content during the aging process. The FDA says Parmesan must contain no more than 32 percent moisture, its solids must contain not less than 32 percent milk fat and it must be cured for no less than 10 months.
Cellulose is optional.
Tinkering with ingredients can be dangerous for a company’s health.
In 2012, Castle Cheese Inc. of Pennsylvania was caught doctoring its products with cheap substitutes and fillers. Bloomberg said the company was caught making grated 100 percent Parmesan with absolutely no Parmesan. Instead, it was produced with a mixture of imitation cheese, trimmings from Swiss, mozzarella and others, plus cellulose. Castle Cheese filed for bankruptcy in 2014 and its president is scheduled to plead guilty to criminal charges, Bloomberg reported.
It’s no surprise that packaged or processed foods have ingredients we won’t find in home kitchens. But we expect to get what we pay for. Manufacturers that don’t follow the rules invite trouble.
The simple solution if you don’t want cellulose in your Parmesan?
Grate your own.
— Chicago Tribune