Please, Do NOT Eat This “Cheese” by Any Means

When this lady tried lighting American Slices out of curiosity and her concern for everyone’s health, she was shocked to notice that this so-called cheese burned like plastic. She expected something else from this cheese which is marketed as pasteurized and processed sandwich slices. The way the ‘cheese’ burned, it didn't show any signs of being cheese. There was no dripping and melting. All that the lady found was it burnt with black soot and emitted bubbles. Although it is required to use the word ‘cheese’ here, it has been proven that this stuff was not cheese. And the concerning thing is that it is being sold alongside real cheese.

Constituents of this ‘Cheese’

A look at the ingredients list of this product gave the following information:

• Water;
• Food starch;
• Soybean oil;
• Whey;
• Casein/caseinate;
• Modified food starch;
• Sodium citrate;
• Natural flavor;
• Salt;
• Sodium phosphate;
• Sorbic acid;
• Stabilizers (Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum & Locust Bean Gum);
• Lactic Acid;
• Artificial Color.

It would be a crime to call it ‘cheese’ because the product packaging doesn’t mention the word ‘cheese’ on the front. The problem is that most of us consider it as so just because we have been taking it like ‘cheese’ since childhood. A generation has grown up on affordable fast-food ‘cheeseburgers’. It will be easier to understand why the ‘cheese’ burnt that way if you check its ingredients. It could be caused by the emulsifiers. It is far better to simply choose organic than to remember the names of all the concerning ingredients. On the other hand, if you want to continue the same way with your eating habits, you should learn more about what you are putting down into your body. Everything that’s being sold out there and looks like cheese shouldn’t be called so. For example, the FDA caught Velveeta some time ago because it had an ingredient that didn't fall under the ambit of “Generally Regarded As Safe.” According to FDA regulations, food products with unauthorized food ingredients are illegal and adulterated. But when it comes to MPC, the agency has not made a sound about the ingredient.

FDA Vs Kraft

The following story from Wikipedia explains how the disagreement between FDA and Kraft materialized some time ago: The FDA, in 2002, sent Kraft a warning letter stating that it was selling Velveeta with “Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread” printed on the packaging, which was a case of misbranding because the list of ingredients including milk protein concentrate or MPC. Thus, Kraft responded by changing the description of the product to “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product”. This term remains undefined by the FDA and may have MPC.

Kraft American Singles

Another product from Kraft – “American Singles” also has MPC in it. The list of ingredients labeled on the packaging is as follows:

• Whey;
• Whey protein concentrate;
• Milk protein concentrate;
• Milk;
• Milkfat;
• Salt;
• Sodium citrate;
• Sorbic acid (preservative);
• Calcium phosphate;
• Apocarotenal & Annatto (coloration);
• Sodium phosphate;
• Enzymes;
• Cheese culture;
• Vitamin D3.

How Africa states that if cheese is legally processed it cannot be marketed as ‘cheese’. It has to be termed and sold as ‘cheese food’. The FDA has a strict Sweet Spot Nutrition for how to label such products depending on the cheese ingredient, milk fat, and moisture content they have. The labeling indicates the following:

• Pasteurized process cheese product – Has below 51% cheese content;
• Pasteurized process cheese food – Has a minimum of 51% cheese content;
• Pasteurized process cheese – Has 100% cheese content.

Via Sweet Spot Nutrition