Separating the curds from the wood
When it comes to the food industry, it's not always easy being cheesy. That's the takeaway from last month's Bloomberg story detailing the use of cellulose (aka wood pulp) in shredded cheese products in the U.S. The use of fillers like cellulose is hotly contested, but perhaps not for the reason you might think.
An FDA investigation found that a Pennsylvania company, Castle Cheese Inc., had doctored its so-called "Parmesan" with a mix of cheap cheddar cheese and cellulose (also known as wood pulp). The President of the company is currently facing a hefty fine and prison time for violating the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
It's really a kind of consumer fraud.
While much of the media's focus has been on the wood pulp, cellulose is in fact a very common food additive. The legality has more to do with the fact that the cheese is improperly labeled: The FDA's Code of Federal Regulations regarding Parmesan requires that each ingredient be listed on the label (with the exception of animal, plant or microbial enzymes, which can simply be declared "enzymes").
Nora Weiser, executive director of the American Cheese Society, says cellulose isn't found in wheels of cheese, but in shredded varieties, where it's used as an anti-caking agent. "It is a legal, food-grade additive," she says. "It keeps the grated cheese products from clumping."
According to Jaydee Hanson, Policy Director at the Center for Food Safety, the FDA allows cheese products to contain up to four percent cellulose. Any more than that might skirt the law, but Hanson says it's likely not all that harmful. "You'd have to eat an awful lot of cheese for the cellulose to affect you. Most consumers don't know but there's actually cellulose in all kinds of foods — €”cereals, for instance. Basically, anything that is labeled ‘added fiber' probably has cellulose in it."
Hanson says that cellulose grew in popularity as a food additive in the 1970s, when consumers became more interested in getting more fiber in their diets. "I'm not of the opinion that it's necessarily harmful, of all the additives out there. It's just a cheap way to make a product appear to be healthier than it is. But you probably want to get your fiber from whole wheat instead of whole wood." (It's worth noting, however, that in a 1973 FDA study, the Administration projected approximately one percent as the average level of cellulose in cheese, rather than the current four percent limit.)
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Does sawdust-enhanced processed cheese affect the body differently than, say, wheat or beans? At a basic level, yes. "Whole wheat has other vitamins and other chemicals that are good for you," says Hanson. "What happens is that [cellulose] just passes through your body. It doesn't give you anything other than bulk. And it gives the company a higher profit."
According to a Food Ingredients & Colors manual manual produced by the International Food Information Council Foundation, cellulose gel is sometimes used as a replacement for fat in dairy products to "provide expected texture and a creamy ‘mouth-feel' in reduced-fat foods," but it can have an adverse effect on cheese: "I've tried shredded cheeses before and noticed a powdery quality to it," says Weiser.
But the real issue with companies utilizing fillers like cellulose, says Hanson, is that it's unfair for consumers to have to pay cheese prices for what is, in a sense, sawdust. "It's really a kind of consumer fraud. Sawdust costs an awful lot less than cheese. They're adulterating the product, mis-branding it and competing with folks that do right."
You probably want to get your fiber from whole wheat instead of whole wood.
According to Weiser, controversies like wood pulp in cheese only serve to muddy the waters for consumers: "There are producers who make excellent quality grating cheese and they are selling them as that, and they need to compete against companies selling two or three-ingredient cheeses at a lower price point." Though it may have taken a while for cellulose-filled cheese to leave a bad taste in consumers' mouths, the controversy shows no signs of waning. Last month, Wal-Mart was sued by a consumer who alleged the chain is defrauding customers with its Great Value brand "100% Grated Parmesan Cheese." According to the lawsuit, tests found that the cheese contained as much as 10 percent cellulose. A similar suit was filed against Kraft in California.
So what do the experts suggest for those who want cheese without a side of wood pulp? "We as an organization encourage people to get a chunk of cheese at the cheese counter," says Weiser. "Like our slogan says, we just want to Make America Grate Again."
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