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FDA finds wood fillers in Parmesan cheese, investigates large retailers

(RNN) - The Parmesan cheese you’ve sprinkled as a topping for your pizzas and other foods could contain wood, according to a new report.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration visited a cheese factory in Pennsylvania in 2012 and found evidence of Castle Cheese Inc. adding fillers, such as wood pulp, in their 100 percent real Parmesan cheese.

This cheese has been distributed to some of the largest grocery chains in the U.S.

The FDA stated that some Parmesan suppliers were mislabeling their products and filling them with cellulose, which is an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp.

Castle President Michelle Myrter is set to plead guilty to criminal charges this month, according to Bloomberg News. Myrter faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Neal Schuman, the owner of New Jersey-based company Arthur Schuman Inc., is the biggest seller of hard Italian cheeses in the U.S. He estimated that 20 percent of U.S. production, which is about $375 million in sales is mislabeled.

Schuman has insisted that the grated cheese Americans use on their pizza and penne should be real, and if it’s not the label should say that.

The grated cheese bought in stores was tested for wood pulp, and the Center for Dairy Research’s cheese technologist Dean Sommer said cellulose is a safe additive to cheese, as long as it constitutes no more than two to four percent.

The results of cellulose found in cheese labeled 100 percent Parmesan from Walmart Stores' Great Value 100 percent Grated Parmesan Cheese was 7.8 percent, Jewl-Osco’s Essential Everyday 100 percent Grated Parmesan Cheese was 8.8 percent, the Whole Foods 365 brand contained 0.3 percent cellulose and Kraft had 3.8 percent.

Spokespersons for Jewel-Osco, Whole Foods, Walmart and Kraft Heinz said they are investigating these results.

In recent years, the FDA has enforced labeling rules on goods to keep consumers safe.

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www.wfsb.com/story/31246197/fda-finds-wood-fillers-in-parmesan-cheese-large-retailers-investigated