Kitchen

[ECBG]

Aol story:  

 Wal-Mart's Great Value food brand has been slapped by a lawsuit over a cheese product it sold that allegedly contained wood pulp.

The plaintiff, Marc Moschetta, claims he was induced to purchase Great Value's "100% Grated Parmesan Cheese" at a premium price because he believed it was, indeed, 100 percent cheese. But it contains 7 to 10 percent cellulose -- a filler and anti-clumping agent derived from wood chips -- according to a complaint filed last week, which accuses the retail brand of deceptive business practices.

The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and alleges "material misrepresentations" under New York law and laws in 42 other states. The 8-ounce cheese costs $2.98 on Walmart.com.

"We know earning customer trust starts with high standards for the products we carry," Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove told CNBC. "We take this matter seriously. We will review the allegations once we have received the complaint and will respond appropriately with the court."

The case has not yet been granted class action certification, but attorney Jason Sultzer said others have expressed interest in joining the case against Wal-Mart.

"The case isn't about consumers getting sick," Sultzer said. "Regardless of the price of the product, people are still buying the product based on the label, and families are being put off. Imagine giving that to your kid with their pasta .... We're very confident that the case is going to move forward, based on the allegations in the complaint."

[millieshops]

I saw the headlines last week, but didn't read the stories.

Was the wood pulp only Walmart or lots of brands of the grated cheese?

I actually think until these things hit the headlines, most people have no idea what they're buying.  Why else would there be so much CHEESE FOOD sold in every supermarket when it's not really all cheese? 

I know when I see the labels what I'm buying, but truthfully, when I have cheese served to me out of my own home, I have no idea whether I'm being given cheese food or real cheese!

[Tigriss]

He won't win this. Cellulose is in all products of this type. Cellulose is just the plant structure in plant cells, any plant.  He won't be able to prove the wood issue.  This story has been circulating since the tread of scrutinizing everything on an ingredient label.  Googling it pops up wood pulp first, but keep looking.  It is in all plants and ends up in all products including OTC fiber.

[cotto22]

Whether it is actually wood pulp or plant stalks, it should not be in parmesan cheese, unless it is clearly stated so the consumer knows it is there. Is it the powdered stuff rather than the grated kind? I have not read the article, but will do so.

[GCR18]

There was an article in the newspaper last week about this.  It featured six brands that have this ingredient.  I imagine most do.  I don't think this fellow will win his case.

[Tigriss]

Cotto22, the ingredient labels say cellulose, so it is there for the consumer to read. It is in all pre-shredded cheeses. It keeps them from sticking together, like gummy candies and things. Another common source of cellulose is corn cobs from processing corn into its many forms.

[Tigriss]

Here is a quick primer on starch versus cellulose:
Cellulose - The Difference Between Cellulose and Starch

Starch and cellulose are two very similar polymers. In fact, they are both made from the same monomer, glucose, and have the same glucose-based repeat units.

There is only one difference. In starch, all the glucose repeat units are oriented in the same direction. But in cellulose, each succesive glucose unit is rotated 180 degrees around the axis of the polymer backbone chain, relative to the last repeat unit.

When bigshot scientists are talking bigshot scientist talk they say that the glucose units in starch are connected by alpha linkages, and that the glucose units in cellulose are connected by beta linkages.

Does this make any difference? It makes a lot of difference! The most important difference in the way the two polymers behave is this: You can eat starch, but you can't digest cellulose. Your body contains enzymes that will break starch down into glucose to fuel your body. But we humans don't have enzymes that can break down cellulose. Some animals do, like termites, who eat wood, or cattle, who eat grass, and break down cellulose in their four-chambered stomachs. So unless you're a termite or a cow, don't try to nourish yourself on woodchips.

Cellulose is a lot stronger than starch. Starch is practically useless as a material, but celluose is strong enough to make fibers from, and hence rope, clothing, etc. Cellulose doesn't dissolve in water the way starch will, and doesn't break down as easily. Breaking down or dissolving in water just would be a little too inconvenient for something we use to make clothes. Not to mention, a good soaking rain would wash away all the wooden houses, park benches, and playground equipment if cellulose were soluble in water.
http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/knowledge_base/detail/cellulose-the-difference-between-cellu...

[chickenbutt]

While I'm not sure what all additives are acceptable, per se, I know that there are always additives to shredded cheese.   I haven't purchased shredded cheese for as long as I can remember for this reason.   Even with arthritis it's not that hard to grate some cheese.  If it's problematic, then one can just run it through the food processor instead.     

It wouldn't surprise me if Walmart got caught doing something unseemly.  I remember when they got busted for putting chemicals/coloring in old meat to make it look 'pink' again and changing out the expired dates.  IIRC, they got busted for this TWICE.     I guess they figured the heat was off after the first time - or something.

[Mothertrucker]

Cellulose is the fiber that is in most plants and vegetables that we eat every day..in fact there used to be a bread that touted itself as highest in fiber because it DID use cellulose in the recipe...

[kcladyz]

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@cotto22 wrote:

Whether it is actually wood pulp or plant stalks, it should not be in parmesan cheese, unless it is clearly stated so the consumer knows it is there. Is it the powdered stuff rather than the grated kind? I have not read the article, but will do so.

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I agree. If i pay for cheese I expect cheese and the thing is walmart brands is usually repacked  name brand so I am sure  it is in other cheeses we eat as well