Compare cheese

Research · Cheese

What our research found about cheese

Natural cheese is also a short list: milk, cultures, enzymes and salt. Processed cheese slices, shredded cheese and spreads are different products; shreds add anti-caking agents such as cellulose, and processed cheese adds emulsifying salts. The FDA has standards of identity for many cheeses, and cheese made from raw milk generally must be aged for at least 60 days under federal rules. The FDA separately warns about the risks of drinking raw milk.

Plant-based cheeses are built from oils and starches or nut bases and should be compared with each other, not with dairy cheese. Sodium and saturated fat are the main nutrients to compare across cheeses, and serving sizes (often one ounce) are small compared to what many people eat.

Products

353 brands

Full labels recorded

13% of the shelf

Maker says organic

0maker’s claim

List an added sweetener

0of 1 labels

List a seed oil

0of 1 labels

Typical label length

2ingredients (median)

Counts use complete, current ingredient labels only. Records without a published label stay unknown and are never counted as clean.

What to compare

• Block or shredded. Shredded cheese typically lists an anti-caking agent such as cellulose or starch; blocks usually do not.
• Sodium per ounce. Cheeses range widely; compare per ounce, not per package.
• Natural vs. processed. Processed cheese adds emulsifying salts and other ingredients.
• Raw-milk and aging. Raw-milk cheeses are generally aged at least 60 days under federal standards.

References

1. 21 CFR Part 133: cheeses and related cheese products Code of Federal Regulations
2. Raw milk misconceptions and the danger of raw milk consumption U.S. Food and Drug Administration
3. Dairy Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
4. Sodium in your diet U.S. Food and Drug Administration