Cellulose is a safe additive, and an acceptable level is 2 percent to 4 percent, according to Dean Sommer, a cheese technologist at the Center for Dairy Research in Madison, Wisconsin. Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, from Jewel-Osco, was 8.8 percent cellulose, while Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Great Value 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese registered 7.8 percent, according to test results. Whole Foods 365 brand didn’t list cellulose as an ingredient on the label, but still tested at 0.3 percent. Kraft had 3.8 percent.
Kraft has 3.8% cellulose, and while that falls under the first sentence's vague and unsourced assertion that "an acceptable level" falls in the 2-4% range, Kraft is so bland I don't usually buy it. That leaves me to choose from other brands or store labels that might have even higher amounts of cellulose.
In sharp contrast, Parmesan cheese in the United States and Argentina, another major knockoff producer, must abide by no such rules. It can be made from milk of any quality, age, or provenance. There is no aging requirement, or really any requirements at all—domestic Parmesan is not even vaguely defined as a particular type or style of cheese.
So it's just cellulose-stuffed "Well, it's a cheese" cheese!
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branchandroot
Defining
Date: 2017-09-05 09:20 am (UTC)https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmesan-cheese-you-sprinkle-on-your-penne-could-be-wood
Kraft has 3.8% cellulose, and while that falls under the first sentence's vague and unsourced assertion that "an acceptable level" falls in the 2-4% range, Kraft is so bland I don't usually buy it. That leaves me to choose from other brands or store labels that might have even higher amounts of cellulose.
Not to mention "parmesan" is an entirely meaningless name: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/08/best-parmesan-cheese-parmigiano-reggiano-labeling.html
So it's just cellulose-stuffed "Well, it's a cheese" cheese!