TV Documentary Alleges Some French Cheeses Produced Without Fresh Milk

French restaurateurs and food critics are calling for new food-labeling
rules after a documentary airing on France 2 reported that some of
the country’s food manufacturers have been using vegetable fat-based
substitutes for fresh milk when producing cheese products. In “Artificial
Cheese on Your Plate” (“Du Faux Fromage Dans Votre Assiette”), cheese
producers are reportedly shown stocking bags of processed cheese made with water, vegetable fat, lactic acid, table salt, and potassium sorbate,
while others are shown mixing genuine mozzarella with cheese made
without milk to create a popular substitute known as “50-50.” Many
of the cheese substitutes also contain palm oil. A nutritionist told the
documentary producers that the cheese substitutes lack the positive
qualities of real cheese because they contain saturated fat without
providing calcium as well. See The Daily Telegraph, June 14, 2015.

Issue 569