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Over the years, there have been more than 50 class actions against Parmesan cheese producers accusing consumers of cheating. However, the harm is not yet clear.

The grated Parmesan cheese in the green shaker, the kind adjacent to the dried pasta and canned tomato sauce on the food shelf, may not be the same as promised. No one even claims that it comes from Italian milk. 

Many of these cheese products, including those produced by the leading shredded cheese manufacturer Kraft Heinz or sold as store brands at Wal-Mart and Albertsons, contain up to 9% cellulose. It is a derivative of wood pulp or plant fiber and is used to prevent lumps and help cheese fall freely through the holes in the lid. They also include potassium sorbate, which is a preservative that prevents mold and extends the shelf life of dried fruits, cakes and wine.

Both are common food additives and can be eaten safely. Nevertheless, these two ingredients, especially wood pulp, are still at the center of an ongoing legal battle that will begin later this month. It's about the product label and what constitutes "pure" Parmigiano-the American version of the beloved Parmigiano-Reggiano hard cheese. 

Cellulose is a fiber derived from plant walls, which means it can be extracted from wood and apple pulp or corn cob.

On December 7, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit filed a new class action lawsuit accusing the cheese manufacturer and grocer and other companies of fraudulently selling products with the front label of “100% grated Parmesan cheese”. Advertising. These companies said they did nothing wrong because federal law requires that grated cheese can be made from non-cheese ingredients.

The Legal Reform Research Institute under the Chamber of Commerce has long been pessimistic about these cases. In a 2017 report on food and beverage class action lawsuits, the business group noted that there are more than 50 class action lawsuits involving parmesan cheese in 10 states that are more common than any other food-related lawsuits. The lawyers wrote that these lawsuits were designed to "fill the pockets of lawyers," not to benefit consumers. 

But a lawyer for the plaintiff told Reuters the decision to revisit Amber and others. v. Albertson Companies, Inc. and others reiterated the importance of false advertising laws and conveyed a message that companies "must exercise important persuasive power in the market in a responsible and ethical manner."

The thought of eating wood flour may stop you, but food scientists say that cellulose is a harmless ingredient. John Coupland, a food scientist at Pennsylvania State University, said that it naturally exists in plant walls, which means it can be extracted from wood and apple pulp or corn cobs. Whenever we eat broccoli, celery or any other vegetable, we eat it. 

In the dairy industry, cellulose is mainly used as an anti-caking agent to ensure that the shredded cheese "flows and does not clump" when it comes out of the shaker.

In order to make additives, the crude fiber is chemically treated until it is refined into a microcrystalline powder or reorganized into a gum. In turn, it was sold to food manufacturers, and companies from McDonald's to Sargento used it to thicken foods and replace fat or flour. 

According to John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Manufacturers Association, in the dairy industry, cellulose is mainly used as an anti-caking agent to ensure that the shredded cheese comes out of the shaker. Flowing without lumps" represents approximately 110 dairy product manufacturers.

The case combines a class action lawsuit filed by a dozen shoppers who said they bought these products "believe that they only contain cheese." They said that the positive label statement was deceptive and violated the false advertising law. In 2018, a federal court in Chicago dismissed these cases, saying that the front label modifier of "100%" was ambiguous. If there is any confusion, just read the ingredient list on the back to solve it.

In his opinion overturning the decision of the lower court, Judge David Hamilton stated that these are unreasonable expectations. He wrote that a "reasonable interpretation" of the label would infer that these products "are all cheese, all cheese is Parmesan, and all grated." He also cited the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) The study found that positive label statements made shoppers less likely to check nutritional content.

"Many rational consumers will not instinctively parse every front label or read every back label before putting groceries in the shopping cart."

"Many rational consumers will not instinctively analyze each front label or read each back label before putting groceries in the shopping cart," Hamilton wrote, noting that grocery shoppers only spend a few seconds to select products. "The most important thing is the real consumer's understanding and response to advertising."

It is legal to make grated cheese from cellulose-and it has been for a long time. About five years ago, this additive was approved by the FDA for use in food. Regulators pointed out that even if used in large quantities, it is nothing more than providing dietary bulk and possible "laxative effects." To this day, federal law allows food manufacturers to add anti-caking agents and anti-fungal agents, which are mold inhibitors, and still call their products "grated cheese."

But because cellulose has no taste and its powdered form is actually similar to grated cheese, cheesemakers may tend to use unnecessary cellulose. In 2016, an executive of Castle Cheese in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, was fined and sentenced to probation for selling grated parmesan cheese and other cheese accessories that had been tampered with powder.

In his latest opinion, Judge Hamilton wrote that if the company could legally claim to sell 100% grated cheese with additives, it would put their competitors at a disadvantage.

"Doing this in the right way requires more money, time and thought."

Lauren Dykes, a spokesperson for Schuman Cheese in Fairfield, New Jersey, agrees. She said that her company's Cello brand grated Parmesan cheese is not made of cellulose, and the production cost is higher. As a result, her company was unable to sell cheese at a lower price, and she claimed that the higher price caused some retailers, such as Albertsons and Stop & Shop, to refuse to sell cheese.

"Our cheese is real cheese," she said. "Doing this in the right way requires more money, time and thought."

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At some point in the past four years, after filing a lawsuit, Wal-Mart withdrew its "100%" statement from the front label of its store brand grated cheese. A company spokesperson told The Counter that he “has not fixed a date for the change” and Walmart believes that “the labels on all our private-label products meet the required guidelines.”

Wal-Mart’s cheese maker ICCO Cheese also did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Kraft Heinz or Albertsons respond to requests for comment. Since then, the case has been returned to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois for litigation, and a public hearing is scheduled to be held on January 29. 

Sam Bloch is a contributor to The Counter, and his articles cover business, environment, and culture. He has also written for The New York Times, Los Angeles Weekly, Local Magazine, American Art and other publications, and is currently writing his first book for Random House, a narrative documentary about shadows work.

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