Here’s Why You May Want To Rethink Purchasing A Pack Of Shredded Cheese During Your Next Grocery Store Run

This ingredient may cause you to never want to purchase a pack of shredded cheese from the store again.

In 2016, former Castle Cheese executive Michelle Myrter was sentenced to three years of probation, 200 hours of community service, and a $5,000 fine for her role in mislabeling cellulose, also described as “wood pulp” in packages sold and marketed to customers as “Parmesan.”

The gag, however, is that cellulose is still used in many food products today as it is a legal food additive. Almost anything that is marked to have “added fiber” contains the ingredient, which the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) says cheese products are allowed to contain, but only up to 4%

“You’d have to eat an awful lot of cheese for the cellulose to affect you,” Policy Director at the Center for Food Safety Jaydee Hanson explained. “Most consumers don’t know but there’s actually cellulose in all kinds of foods — cereals, for instance. Basically, anything that is labeled ‘added fiber’ probably has cellulose in it.”

Introduced in the 197 0s, cellulose became popular when more consumers expressed interest in incorporating a more fiber-heavy lifestyle.

“I’m not of the opinion that it’s necessarily harmful, of all the additives out there. It’s just a cheap way to make a product appear to be healthier than it is,” said Hanson. “But you probably want to get your fiber from whole wheat instead of whole wood.”

What’s more, it has also been reported that the cellulose gel used in shredded cheese products has been used as a replacement for fat in dairy products to  “provide expected texture and a creamy ‘mouth-feel’ in reduced-fat foods.”

The effect on cheese, however, is not the same. Instead, consumers may notice that sometimes their shredded cheese products have a powdery quality, which is due to the “wood pulp” that makes up the ingredient.

The problem, Hanson says, is that consumers are paying for what could seemingly be seen as sawdust, and they might not even be aware. “It’s really a kind of consumer fraud. Sawdust costs an awful lot less than cheese. They’re adulterating the product, misbranding it, and competing with folks that do right.”

So what’s the alternative? Experts suggest going back in time by purchasing blocks of cheese that do not contain the cellulose ingredient and using a cheese grater to make your own shredded cheese at home.