Like most things, the matter of the cellulose in parmesan cheese is actually a little more complicated. On my last post, a friend commented and explained that wood pulp is cellulose. (Thanks my friend!) I looked it up and it is! It acts as fiber in our digestive system that moves things a lot because it isn't digestible by human bodies. Hmm... I gathered from what I read online that it hasn't been determined whether it is dangerous for human consumption. The FDA has approved it as a food additive. That's why the article is funny to me. I suspect there are probably limits of how much cellulose is added (though I'm not sure) and it is very important that food is correctly labeled. I suspect that is one of the larger issues. The article makes it seem like the wood pulp is dangerous.
Sifting through what I read a little more from the article I linked to and other sources I found online, I believe the issue is more with false labeling. A cheese seems like it couldn't be 100% Parmesan Cheese if 3-4% of it is cellulose, aka wood pulp. It is also disconcerting that Target's store brand grated Parmesan isn't at all parmesan. The cellulose does keep it from clumping and sticking together.
Here's a link to a second article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cheese-wood-pulp-cellulose-parmesan_us_56c491c2e4b08ffac1271f1e
This article explains that 2-4% is allowed. The cheese in question was tested at 7.8%, far higher than the allowable limit. Kraft's cheese is within that limit.
Here's the FDA's statement about cellulose on their website: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/GRAS/SCOGS/ucm261248.htm
I still think it's funny. "Wood Pulp" is used to alarm us. "Cellulose" is used to make us think it's just something else added to food. It's all about the spin!
You're welcome, friend :)
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