FDA Finds Parmesan Cut With Wood Pulp, Cheaper Cheeses

As if it weren't bad enough that most olive oil is adulterated, a newly surfaced report from the FDA reveals that some parmesan cheese being sold by big-name stores and brands may not be parmesan cheese at all — in some cases, the cheese has been cut with wood pulp or other (much cheaper) cheeses like cheddar. The beans were spilled (so to speak) after the Food and Drug Administration received a tip that led to a Pennsylvania cheese factory in late 2012. The location was Castle Cheese Inc, according to the documents, and it was found to be cutting its products with cheaper substitutions, changes that weren't noted on the resulting product labels.

Parmesan, of course, is a hard cheese often sold grated and in wedges. The cheese is popular in the U.S., and is often sold at a premium price, at least in comparison to cheeses like cheddar and swiss. Unfortunately, the FDA's investigation found Castle Cheese Inc's parmesan wasn't a pure product, in some cases containing cellulose, which is derived from wood pulp.

Cellulose is commonly used in small amounts to prevent clumping, but the FDA's testing found the substance was being used in too high of quantities. As well, some products being sold as 100% parmesan in fact contained amounts of other cheaper cheeses. Cellulose and starch were used to add bulk.

According to this letter sent by the FDA to Castle Cheese, Inc in summer 2013:

Your International Packing Parmesan Cheese, (b)(4) Romano 100% Grated Cheese and (b)(4) 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese products are adulterated within the meaning of Section 402(b)(4) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 342(b)(4)] in that a substance has been added to increase the products' bulk and weight. Specifically, cellulose and/or starch were used to increase the weight of the cheese base used to manufacture your products.

While that particular situation has been dealt with, the state of parmesan purity may have changed little in the years since.

Recently, Bloomberg sent some grated parmesan cheese purchased at grocery stores to an indie laboratory, which found that Walmart's Great Value 100% grated parmesan contained 7.8-percent cellulose, Essential Everyday's contained 8.8-percent, Kraft contained 3.8-percent, and Whole Foods contained 0.3-percent. Bloomberg goes on to say that an FDA report acquired via an FOIA request shows that Target's Market Pantry 100% grated parmesan contained no parmesan at all, instead featuring cellulose, mozzarella, white cheddar, and swiss.

All four companies have said they're looking into the matter.

SOURCE: Bloomberg