(wood pulp)
I was listening to the radio the other day and they were talking about the different fillers and liquids added to foods that we don’t know about. One of the things one caller said was that some shredded cheese has saw dust in it. I ran to the refrigerator to check and I didn’t see saw dust or wood pulp on the list! That would be because it is called cellulose on the package. This keeps the cheese from sticking together and is less expensive than corn starch. It is also considered a fiber. Wood pulp is also listed as cellulose gel and cellulose gum, depending on the form it is made into. Cellulose gel is added to low-fat and non-fat ice creams and other dairy products to give it a creamier texture. The different forms of cellulose are used depending on if they need a more gelatinous ingredient or more liquidy. I was about to buy some flour tortillas today and when I was almost to the end of the ingredient list, it said it contained cellulose gum, so I promptly placed the package back on the shelf. The problem is, that since the “wood” is natural the FDA considers this a natural product and it is even in organic foods. My dad was a general contractor for much of my growing up years and he had a lot of tools and sawed a lot of wood. I became very used to saw dust and I actually think it smells good, but I could never imagine eating it. What about people who may be allergic to a particular type of tree or wood? Could the allergic reaction they have be from the “wood pulp” rather than from the actual cheese? If the FDA believes this is a natural product and okay to eat, then why not put on the label what it is rather than calling it something else? When I bought my cheese today, I bought the cheese chunk and I will just shred it myself for the dish I am making. I know there are a lot of things that I am eating that I don’t know about yet, but anything I can keep out of my system that doesn’t belong there I will make my best effort at doing. Please read the attached link for a lot more information…
Would You Like Some Wood Pulp In Your Shredded Cheese …
Reminds me of Roman Meal putting sawdust in their bread to bulk it up…Tasty, tasty tree parts. :P. I started noticing crap in shredded cheese when I was on the Atkin’s diet. I was incredulous to the fact that cheese had so …