The Parmesan cheese you're eating might actually be wood pulp


Don't be alarmed, but your Parmesan cheese might actually be wood pulp. The Food and Drug Administration has investigated Castle Cheese Inc.'s use of cellulose, an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp, and cut-rate substitute cheeses in what the company marketed as 100 percent Parmesan cheese, Bloomberg Business reports.
Though Castle was apparently not an authorized Target vendor, the FDA reported that "no Parmesan cheese was used to manufacture" Target's Market Pantry brand of 100 percent Parmesan cheese. The cheese was instead made up of Swiss, mozzarella, white cheddar, and cellulose.
Another cheesemaker estimated that about 20 percent of U.S. production of Italian hard cheeses is mislabeled.
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
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