Your Parmesan Cheese Is Made of Wood Pulp... Or Is It?

A recent Bloomberg report on shady cheese-making practices revealed some interesting facts about the Parmesan cheese you may be buying at your local supermarket
Your Parmesan Cheese Is Made of Wood Pulp... Or Is It?
Parmesan Cheese. Public Domain
Petr Svab
Petr Svab
reporter
|Updated:

A recent Bloomberg report on shady cheese-making practices revealed some interesting facts about the Parmesan cheese you may be buying at your local supermarket. Titled “The Parmesan Cheese You Sprinkle on Your Penne Could Be Wood,” the report states at least two brands of grated Parmesan contained more cellulose, a safe additive, than “acceptable.”

Lacing Parmesan with 2-4 percent of cellulose, made of wood pulp, is acceptable, Dean Sommer, a cheese technologist at the Center for Dairy Research in Madison, Wisconsin, told Bloomberg.

However, Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, from Jewel-Osco, contained 8.8 percent of cellulose and Wal-Mart’s Great Value 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese had 7.8 percent, according to tests a laboratory did for Bloomberg.

Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese. (Screenshot of shopwell.com)
Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese. Screenshot of shopwell.com
Petr Svab
Petr Svab
reporter
Petr Svab is a reporter covering New York. Previously, he covered national topics including politics, economy, education, and law enforcement.
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