# New Pizza Topping - Wood Pulp - Live Better - Save Money



## RUSH2112 (Mar 25, 2012)

You can't make this stuff up.

http://consumerist.com/2016/02/24/w...elling-parmesan-cheese-with-wood-pulp-filler/


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

I read wood pulp is used a lot in burgers, Where are the tree huggers.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

I am glad I don't use a lot of process foods. However, the article makes me a feel a little better, as my young girls guides were eating the cookie craft I had for them that was made out of paper. I told the other leader not to worry, it was just paper. At least it can't be that bad


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## jdc (Feb 1, 2016)

Why buy grated cheese anyways? It only takes a few seconds to grate it yourself.


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

RUSH2112 said:


> You can't make this stuff up.
> 
> http://consumerist.com/2016/02/24/w...elling-parmesan-cheese-with-wood-pulp-filler/


From a legal standpoint, the argument could be made that the label says nothing about the cheese content. What it says is 100% Grated, with the product name below it. So, it is legally accurate- 100% of the product inside IS grated- we just don't get the information about exactly what is inside. 

It's similar to the McDonald's case where they were selling patties made from 100% Pure Beef- however "Pure Beef" was the intentionally misleading name of their proprietary product used to make burger patties, which contained who knows what. They have since changed it.


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## heyjude (May 16, 2009)

I've stopped buying grated cheeses for this reason. I bought a microplane grater and now I buy the "expensive" wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is just so much better.


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## nobleea (Oct 11, 2013)

indexxx said:


> It's similar to the McDonald's case where they were selling patties made from 100% Pure Beef- however "Pure Beef" was the intentionally misleading name of their proprietary product used to make burger patties, which contained who knows what. They have since changed it.


It's not similar in that what you say never happened. When they say 100% pure beef, it means 100% pure beef. This 'conspiracy' has been proven false many times. 
http://www.snopes.com/business/market/allbeef.asp
Mind you, they don't say where in the cow the beef came from.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

I read that when tested, the Costco brand was 100% grated cheese........so similar to another study on fish products it appears Costco is more diligent in ensuring their supply chain has top quality.

Surprising, since Costco is considered more of a warehouse type of grocer, but suppliers to Costco have said that Costco checks them for quality and if they get booted out there is no second chance.


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## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

We've been on holiday in Georgia this month and it is surprising just how much more American foodstuffs seem to be adulterated than ours. Meat in particular. We've had ham, chicken and bacon that says right on the package "Water added: XX%"

Couldn't get that damn chicken to brown in the frying pan for love or money. And it was Tyson brand from a Publix supermarket, so not exactly offbrand stuff.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

You should check out the percentages of insect parts measured in commercial orange juice brands. I've been squeezing my own ever since I read a report on that years ago.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

heyjude said:


> I've stopped buying grated cheeses for this reason. I bought a microplane grater and now I buy the "expensive" wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano. It is just so much better.


To call it 'wood pulp' is sensationalism. It makes it sound like companies are adding saw dust or something. Cellulose is a compound naturally occurring in many fruits and vegetables and is a non-digestible fibre.

That said, I am with you on freshly grated parmesan (or like cheese, like Romano) tasting better. I am actually more suspicious about the quality of cheese they are using in the first place than the fact that it is bulked with cellulose.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

it's been decades now that some commercial bakers are putting tiny wood shavings in 100% whole grain breads for fibre content.

to a casual eye, the whole-grain breads appeared fine & dandy. Little specks of ground-up and/or sprouted flax, rye, quinoa, bran, barley, wheat germ & millet flecked throughout the dough. But if one looked closely, one could see that some of those specks were fragments of wood shavings.

i don't buy those breads any more, of course. So perhaps they've outlawed the practice by now? but it did allow the baking company to advertise the bread as having a named proportion of fibre content.

the problem is that the human gut can't break down & digest wood fibre carbohydrates. It's possible that the presence of such indigestible fragments in the GI might set off undesirable biochemical reactions, idk.

as for insects in commercial orange juice, no it can't be! brad your job as gatekeeper & watchman for all the environmental knowledge around here is to make sure we don't hear about stuff like insects in OJ ...

my latest campaign is avoiding most cheddar cheese brands (the cracker barrels, for example) because it's evident that the cheese contains too high a percentage of so-called edible plastic. Plasticizers have long been used in processed cheese slices but now plastic is endemic in ordinary grocery store cheeses such as cheddar, mozzarella, brick cheese, etc.

the only plastic-free alternatives are incredibly expensive artisanal cheeses. These cost north of $50 per kilo, but they are always worth it. Still, up soars the grocery bill.

at my grocers, organic meat - ie unadulterated organic grown beef, lamb, etc - is running $80 to $100 per kilo.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

brad said:


> You should check out the percentages of insect parts measured in commercial orange juice brands. I've been squeezing my own ever since I read a report on that years ago.


Do you mill your own flour? There are many bug bits in the mix there as well.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

I'm not sure where you have heard that plasticizer has been added to cheese, even the 'processed' variety. 

What gives processed cheese its characteristic taste/texture (which is different than that of unprocessed cheese) are the added emulsifiers, vegetable oil and other flavourings. 

It seems like there is a lot of scare-mongering going on when it comes to food processing. I think a lot of it is justified when it comes to how meat is produced and processed, but that doesn't seem to be what we are talking about here.


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## humble_pie (Jun 7, 2009)

i'm not talking about processed cheese, i was mentioning plain cheddar. Traditionally, artisanal cheddar has a firm, cohesive quality with a hint of crumble, ie there's a texture or "bite" to high quality versions.

the commercial cracker barrel cheddar types have no texture. They cut smooth, like slicing through plasticine. When one applies a knife gently, the surface will actually bend slightly, before the incision begins. This is the effect of additional edible plastic content. This wasn't true even 8 or 10 years ago.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Do you have any documentation to support this? It is not on the ingredients list.

Commercial cheddar is not aged in the same way as 'artisinal' cheddar, which probably accounts for much of the texture difference. The aging process is artificially accelerated, which is what drives much of the cost difference.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

humble_pie said:


> the only plastic-free alternatives are incredibly expensive artisanal cheeses. These cost north of $50 per kilo, but they are always worth it. Still, up soars the grocery bill.


I get my cheddar directly from the local fromagerie about $5/500g. Costco actually carries fresh local cheddar as well, and any corner store up here has gooey warm cheese curds next to the cash register. There must be over a dozen fromageries nearby.. they are nothing like cracker barrel, but who knows if they are plastic free


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## Koogie (Dec 15, 2014)

m3s said:


> I get my cheddar directly from the local fromagerie about $5/500g. Costco actually carries fresh local cheddar as well, and any corner store up here has gooey warm cheese curds next to the cash register. There must be over a dozen fromageries nearby.. they are nothing like cracker barrel, but who knows if they are plastic free


“Excusez-moi, garcon, qu’est-ce que c’est the cheese dans la my wife’s bouche?”
:biggrin:


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## indexxx (Oct 31, 2011)

nobleea said:


> It's not similar in that what you say never happened. When they say 100% pure beef, it means 100% pure beef. This 'conspiracy' has been proven false many times.
> http://www.snopes.com/business/market/allbeef.asp
> Mind you, they don't say where in the cow the beef came from.


Thank you for the link nobleea- I stand corrected!


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