That parmesan you're eating could actually be wood
UPDATE: Feb. 19, 2016, 3:59 p.m. EST Jewel-Osco, whose product was found to contain 8.8% cellulose, has since removed all Essential Everyday Parmesan Cheese from all of its stores, says NBC. The chain also says it was in the process of removing that particular brand of cheese from its shelves before the recall.
If you think the pre-grated cheese you buy from the grocery store tastes a little wooden, you might not be imagining things.
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In an independent lab-run test, Bloomberg News revealed pre-grated cheese from sources including Whole Foods, Walmart and Kraft all contained cellulose, an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp.
Kraft cheese contained 3.8% cellulose, Walmart's Great Value 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese had 7.8% and Whole Foods 365 Parmesan had 0.3%, though it does not at all list cellulose as an ingredient. Cellulose doesn't only prevent clumping, it is also cheaper than filling that little plastic bag with pure cheese.
All the companies above told Bloomberg they stood behind their products and are investigating the matter further.
The FDA is currently investigating the now bankrupt Castle Cheese, Incorporated and, "The company’s president is scheduled this month to plead guilty to pumping products full of cellulose and using cheaper cheddar instead of real Romano," Business Insider reports.
The most wild part of this isn't necessarily that wood pulp was found. It's that up to 4% of a shredded cheese product may be cellulose and that's legal.
In that small amount, cheese technologist Dean Sommer, of the Center for Dairy Research in Madison, Wisconsin, tells Bloomberg that cellulose is safe to ingest.
However, just because it's safe doesn't mean you want to be unwittingly chowing down on the lumber.
In related news, maple syrup producers have demanded the FDA crack down on foods with no actual maple syrup in their products (like instant oatmeal and ice cream) that use the word "maple" in their names.
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Sarah Spigelman Richter is a contributor to Mashable's Food channel. Sarah covers everything edible, from the food industry to D.I.Y. recipes. She was previously the community manager for Tastemade NYC and her writing has been seen on The Today Show's food blog, Refinery 29, the Food Network, and Gothamist. She has also developed recipes for Tabasco and other nationally recognized brands and has blogged for 5 years at "Fritos and Foie Gras." Sarah is obsessed with "Orphan Black" and chili-cheese Fritos and is still depressed that Loehmann's closed.
