DailyDirt: Adulteration Of Foods May Not Be What You Expect

Some food additives can be dangerous to public health -- such as adding melamine to infant formula. So understandably, government agencies policing food safety should focus on health issues related to food additives and food poisioning. But there are perfectly safe food additives that are just aimed at increasing the profits of food distributors, and it looks like Americans might want to research their cheese suppliers a bit more closely.

• The FDA found that Castle Cheese Inc wasn't selling 100% real parmesan cheese -- just a lot of fillers (e.g., cellulose) and cheaper cheddar cheese. It's not unsafe to eat, but an estimated 20% of hard Italian cheeses in the US could be deceptively labeled. [url]
• Cellulose is a common food additive, so if you saw headlines of "wood pulp in cheese" -- it's nothing new, really. It's not sawdust, and food scientists have tried to source cellulose from non-wood plants, but it's not as easy to get. Cellulose has been used as an anti-clumping agent in baking, and the food industry claims it provides a healthy source of dietary fiber. [url]
• The adulteration of food stuffs has been a tempting way to increase profits since forever. Olive oil was once the most adulterated agricultural product in the EU in 1997-1998. Olive oil is easy to dilute with cheaper oils and has been tampered with as far back as ancient Greece, and adulteration can be difficult to detect -- even with modern chemistry. [url]

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