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

The parmesan cheese you're eating may not be 100% real.
(Image credit: FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

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.

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Julie Kliegman

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.