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There's also been cases of shredded Parmesan not containing and Parmesan at all, and a big part of it actually being woodpulp.

by soperj 10y ago

nommm-nommm 10y ago
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmesan-cheese-you-sprinkle-on-your-penne-could-be-wood http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmes... >Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania-based Castle produced mainly imitation cheeses for nearly 30 years. The company, whose factory was adorned with crenelated battlements and curved archways to look like a medieval castle, had $19 million in sales in 2013. >According to the FDA’s report on Castle, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, “no parmesan cheese was used to manufacture” the Market Pantry brand 100% grated Parmesan Cheese, sold at Target Corp. stores, and Always Save Grated Parmesan Cheese and Best Choice 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, sold by Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., which along with its subsidiaries supplies 3,400 retail stores in 30 states. Instead, there was a mixture of Swiss, mozzarella, white cheddar and cellulose, according to the FDA. >Castle President Michelle Myrter is scheduled to plead guilty this month to criminal charges. She faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
- _puk 10y ago
  30 years of $x million annual sales of essentially counterfeit product results in "up to" a year long sentence and $100,000 fine. Madness. Though I find it ironic that they responded honestly to the FOI request.
  - nommm-nommm 10y ago
    You are surprised the FDA responded honestly to a Freedom of Information Act request? The FOIA request was a request to the FDA from Bloomberg for the FDA's investigation on Castle. It was used by Bloomberg to write the article. The Freedom of Information Act is only to request information from a government agency. To uncover the fraud the FDA physically visited Castle. They were tipped off by a disgruntled former employee. Without the tip off there is a extremely small chance they would have ever been caught.
    - _puk 10y ago
      Actually missed this point about the FDA visiting on the tip-off, hence my surprise. The FDA can only respond with the information they have, so as it took the FDA actually visiting Castle (on a tip-off no less), they must have been lied to as well. Surely, a FOI request can't realistically trigger someone jumping in a car to verify data held on file.
13of40 10y ago
Cellulose powder - says so right in the ingredients, alongside lipase, calcium chloride, and potassium sorbate: http://www.garycameron.org/files/2012/04/Kraft-100-Parm-q50.jpg http://www.garycameron.org/files/2012/04/Kraft-100-Parm-q50.... Even better, it says "The label doesn't just say parmesan, it says 100% parmesan. That's because we only use the finest ingredients, carefully crafted and aged for a sharp, distinctive taste that enhances your favourite dishes - a taste that's 100% real, 100% parmesan." They can get away with it because "parmesan" doesn't actually mean anything outside of the EU. Edit: As that other poster just pointed out, maybe it does mean something in the US (that label was from Canada), since someone's actually facing criminal charges for it.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- tunap 10y ago
  Totinis frozen pizzas changed their description in last year or so. The new description says "pepperoni flavored pizza topping" now. Who defines what "pizza topping" is, however, IDK.
  - Udik 10y ago
    Flavored? It makes you wonder what those slices are actually made of. Ah, now I googled and saw the box. It says "made with pork, chicken, beef". In no particular order and in variable proportions, I guess.
    - oxide 10y ago
      "mystery meat" doesn't have the same ring to it as "pepperoni flavored pizza topping"
- stouset 10y ago
  The word "parmesan" pretty much literally doesn't mean anything in the US. If you want actual "parmesan", you must go with "parmigiano reggiano", which is a protected designation.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> There's also been cases of shredded Parmesan not containing and Parmesan at all To a reasonable approximation, the only shredded Parmesan you can buy that is likely to contain anything like Parmesan is the stuff that's shredded on-site by places that also sell wheels/chunks of Parmesan. OTOH, there's rarely a good reason to buy shredded parmesan even if its real; for most uses you want shredded parmesan, the size/shape of shreds you get from such a product aren't great, and its better (and, in any case, cheaper in the long run) to just get blocks of parmesan and a grater, and in typical use quantities you aren't saving much time or effort by getting pre-grated.
- soperj 10y ago
  I agree and don't buy shredded parmesan. Just insane that that is allowed to exist at all.
  - dawnerd 10y ago
    Right? You can grate some just as fast as it takes to open the tub. Price wise it's just about cheaper to buy a wedge anyways. I'll give people a pass for store shredded, but god when I see people using Kraft parmesan "dust"...
brassic 10y ago
Pretty much all packaged grated cheese has added cellulose to stop the flakes sticking back together. If you want 100% Parmesan (or even 100% cheese!) you need to buy a block.

There's also been cases of shredded Parmesan not containing and Parmesan at all, and a big part of it actually being woodpulp.

by soperj 10y ago

There's also been cases of shredded Parmesan not containing and Parmesan at all, and a big part of it actually being woodpulp.

nommm-nommm 10y ago

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmesan-cheese-you-sprinkle-on-your-penne-could-be-wood http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-16/the-parmes... >Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania-based Castle produced mainly imitation cheeses for nearly 30 years. The company, whose factory was adorned with crenelated battlements and curved archways to look like a medieval castle, had $19 million in sales in 2013. >According to the FDA’s report on Castle, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, “no parmesan cheese was used to manufacture” the Market Pantry brand 100% grated Parmesan Cheese, sold at Target Corp. stores, and Always Save Grated Parmesan Cheese and Best Choice 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese, sold by Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., which along with its subsidiaries supplies 3,400 retail stores in 30 states. Instead, there was a mixture of Swiss, mozzarella, white cheddar and cellulose, according to the FDA. >Castle President Michelle Myrter is scheduled to plead guilty this month to criminal charges. She faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

_puk 10y ago
30 years of $x million annual sales of essentially counterfeit product results in "up to" a year long sentence and $100,000 fine. Madness. Though I find it ironic that they responded honestly to the FOI request.
- nommm-nommm 10y ago
  You are surprised the FDA responded honestly to a Freedom of Information Act request? The FOIA request was a request to the FDA from Bloomberg for the FDA's investigation on Castle. It was used by Bloomberg to write the article. The Freedom of Information Act is only to request information from a government agency. To uncover the fraud the FDA physically visited Castle. They were tipped off by a disgruntled former employee. Without the tip off there is a extremely small chance they would have ever been caught.
  - _puk 10y ago
    Actually missed this point about the FDA visiting on the tip-off, hence my surprise. The FDA can only respond with the information they have, so as it took the FDA actually visiting Castle (on a tip-off no less), they must have been lied to as well. Surely, a FOI request can't realistically trigger someone jumping in a car to verify data held on file.

13of40 10y ago

Cellulose powder - says so right in the ingredients, alongside lipase, calcium chloride, and potassium sorbate: http://www.garycameron.org/files/2012/04/Kraft-100-Parm-q50.jpg http://www.garycameron.org/files/2012/04/Kraft-100-Parm-q50.... Even better, it says "The label doesn't just say parmesan, it says 100% parmesan. That's because we only use the finest ingredients, carefully crafted and aged for a sharp, distinctive taste that enhances your favourite dishes - a taste that's 100% real, 100% parmesan." They can get away with it because "parmesan" doesn't actually mean anything outside of the EU. Edit: As that other poster just pointed out, maybe it does mean something in the US (that label was from Canada), since someone's actually facing criminal charges for it.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
tunap 10y ago
Totinis frozen pizzas changed their description in last year or so. The new description says "pepperoni flavored pizza topping" now. Who defines what "pizza topping" is, however, IDK.
- Udik 10y ago
  Flavored? It makes you wonder what those slices are actually made of. Ah, now I googled and saw the box. It says "made with pork, chicken, beef". In no particular order and in variable proportions, I guess.
  - oxide 10y ago
    "mystery meat" doesn't have the same ring to it as "pepperoni flavored pizza topping"
stouset 10y ago
The word "parmesan" pretty much literally doesn't mean anything in the US. If you want actual "parmesan", you must go with "parmigiano reggiano", which is a protected designation.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> There's also been cases of shredded Parmesan not containing and Parmesan at all To a reasonable approximation, the only shredded Parmesan you can buy that is likely to contain anything like Parmesan is the stuff that's shredded on-site by places that also sell wheels/chunks of Parmesan. OTOH, there's rarely a good reason to buy shredded parmesan even if its real; for most uses you want shredded parmesan, the size/shape of shreds you get from such a product aren't great, and its better (and, in any case, cheaper in the long run) to just get blocks of parmesan and a grater, and in typical use quantities you aren't saving much time or effort by getting pre-grated.

soperj 10y ago
I agree and don't buy shredded parmesan. Just insane that that is allowed to exist at all.
- dawnerd 10y ago
  Right? You can grate some just as fast as it takes to open the tub. Price wise it's just about cheaper to buy a wedge anyways. I'll give people a pass for store shredded, but god when I see people using Kraft parmesan "dust"...

brassic 10y ago

Pretty much all packaged grated cheese has added cellulose to stop the flakes sticking back together. If you want 100% Parmesan (or even 100% cheese!) you need to buy a block.