How to distinguish cheese from a cheese product and not harm your health? Why you can not buy a cheese product instead of cheese.

Processed cheese is one of the few products that, even at current prices, is affordable to most consumers. But every year the quality of the product changes noticeably, acquiring new flavors, new ingredients and a new look. The journalist of "Bagnet" decided to find out what processed cheese consists of today.

A bit of history...

Processed cheese is a relatively young "invention": in 1911, the Swiss Walter Gerber came up with a new technology for converting hard cheese into processed cheese, which increased the shelf life of the product. The basis for the new invention was the technology of making cheese fondue - a national Swiss dish, which is usually prepared from cheese and wine with the addition of spices in a special heat-resistant dish over an open fire.

Excursion to merchandising

Processed cheeses are made from hard cheeses of one or more types, cottage cheese, with the addition of milk, sour cream or butter, as well as melting salts, spices and food additives. Ideally, for the preparation of processed cheese, hard cheeses are used that have some purely external defects. However, it is no secret that very often hard cheeses are used for the manufacture of processed cheeses, the expiration date of which has expired, and other dairy illiquid products.

First, all components are crushed and mixed, then melting salts are added, which provide a soft, uniform consistency, and also prevent the cheese from hardening, and are subjected to heat treatment at a temperature of 75-95 degrees.

It is believed that processed cheese is safer for health, since all microflora is destroyed during the melting process, so it can be stored longer, and also becomes less sensitive to temperature changes. At the same time, processed cheese contains fewer nutrients than hard cheese, but does not contain cholesterol.

Processed cheese or processed cheese product?

Do not confuse "processed cheese", which is made exclusively from dairy ingredients, and "processed cheese product", for which plant components are used. Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with this, it's just a different product with different characteristics.

The addition of good quality vegetable fat plus compliance with the technology (so that trans-isomers are not formed) makes it possible to make the product dietary, Natalia Fesyun, director of external relations of Bel Shostka Ukraine, told Bagnet. She also clarified that high-quality vegetable fats almost do not differ in cost from dairy cheeses.

The fact is that the composition of milk fats includes saturated fatty acids, which in large quantities cause pathologies of the cardiovascular system, a violation of the fat metabolism of the body. Therefore, vegetable fats containing polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fatty acids are considered more dietary.

But, as dietitian Svetlana Fus told Bagnet, many manufacturers use cheap vegetable fats - palm and coconut oil. “These are two vegetable fats that basically contain the same saturated fatty acids found in dairy foods. In addition, it is these fats that can cause the appearance of trans-isomeric fats during the production process, which are especially dangerous for health,” explained Svetlana Fus.

Since we are far from always able to find out exactly which vegetable fat was used, the dietary properties of the processed cheese product remain in question.

What the label says

According to the legislation, the manufacturer is obliged to indicate on the label the entire composition of food products, and also to place at the beginning of the list those ingredients that are most in this product. Often the label for us is the only source of information about the composition of the product.

The journalist of "Bagnet" bought several samples of different price categories. During the purchase, she noted that “processed cheese product” is cheaper than “processed cheese” (the difference is from 10 to 0.8 UAH).

I read what is included in the "processed cheese" "Vershkovy": albumin cheese, hard cheese, cheese butter, low-fat cheese, sour-milk cheese, whey powder, melting salts, stabilizer, water. According to the information provided by the manufacturer, this is a completely dairy product, which should have the beneficial properties of dairy products.

But the composition of the “processed cheese product” made me wonder if such a “cheese” can give something useful to the body: hard cheeses, fat and low-fat cheeses for melting, soy protein component for processed cheese products, margarine, protein mass from cheese whey, skimmed milk powder, corn starch, modified food starch, dry whey, wheat flour, monosodium glutamate, sorbate potassium, food citric acid, sugar, melting salt, stabilizer, natural food color beta-carotene, food salt, water.

As you can see, this product is already very remotely reminiscent of cheese itself.

Based on everything that has been said above, experts advise not to get too carried away with processed cheese, although you should not completely abandon them either. For example, Vladimir Semyonovich, head of the Research and Development Center for Product Testing of SE Ukrmetrteststandart, advises: “The main thing is to buy a quality product from a manufacturer you trust. When choosing a product, pay attention to the labeling and composition of the product - very often this information is enough to draw conclusions whether this product will enrich your diet or not.

Requirements for the quality of products in Belarus are increasing, but the consumer must remain alert, carefully reading what is written on the packaging of the goods.

Recently we saw a miracle food in a Minsk store. "The product is cheesy, yellow, with holes," read the label, glued to an ordinary-looking piece of cheese. And neither you the composition, nor the manufacturer - only the name of the importer indicated that the goods were produced abroad. For the sake of curiosity, we bought and carefully ate in the editorial office, but did not feel the difference. Only a hint of bewilderment remained: what kind of new cheese surrogate appeared in Belarus? And how to distinguish it from the genuine?

Answers to all questions were found at the Institute of the Meat and Dairy Industry of the Republican Unitary Enterprise "Scientific and Practical Center for Foodstuffs of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus".

Delicious but useless.

"What torn, ugly holes! No, we wouldn't buy one like that", - in the laboratory of cheese-making and butter-making technologies, the "yellow-leaky" product was rejected based on only one photograph.

The term "cheese product" appeared in Belarus only in 2007. It is made in accordance with the technology of cheese production, but it contains fats and / or proteins of non-dairy origin, such as palm oil or soy. The purpose of substitution is to reduce the cost of the product in regions experiencing a milk shortage.

Why import a surrogate to Belarus abounding in milk from abroad (in our case, from Poland) is not entirely clear, but this is still a personal matter of the importer. He probably found his own benefit in this, especially since the retail price of "cheese" is quite high - 21,840 BYR/kg.

Belarusian manufacturers are not fond of cheese products. In any case, over the past 5 years, the Institute of the Meat and Dairy Industry has not prepared technical documents for vegetable "cheese". "Sometimes entrepreneurs turn to us with a request to help them develop a cheese product, but we believe that today there is no such need, - they say in the "cheese-making" laboratory. - Why deceive the people if there is enough milk in the country?"

In genuine cheese, there should not be any fats and proteins that did not come out from under a cow (sheep, goat). " If vegetable fat is suddenly found in Belarusian cheeses, then this product does not comply with the regulations", experts say.

But if the taster easily recognizes the taste of the cheese product, then the average consumer is unlikely to detect a fake. In terms of organoleptic qualities, the cheese product will resemble ordinary cheese, in terms of physical and chemical composition, too, but the surrogate will not bring much benefit to the body. "Vegetable fats have a different chemical composition, - explains the junior researcher of the laboratory Oksana Gakotina. - If a real, well-ripened cheese is absorbed in the body by 95-97%, then when we add vegetable fats or proteins to the product, the absorption of nutrients decreases. They appear to be in transit..

between two regulations.

The new technical regulation of Belarus "Milk and dairy products. Safety", developed following the Russian technical regulation and approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus in March of this year, is fascinating about all the reincarnations of milk. The document unites the requirements for all types of dairy products, raw materials, packaging, transportation, etc., that is, it is a kind of bible for domestic producers. And although it officially comes into force only on January 1, 2011, standardization bodies are actually already working in accordance with the new regulation.

In it you can find interpretations of dozens of dairy products, which give an idea of ​​what the product is made of and what distinguishes it from a substitute with a similar name. In particular, the new technical regulation requires a distinction between milk and milk drink (corresponding inscriptions should appear on packages from January 1).

By the way, Belarus, despite the strictness of standards, will be the last in the Customs Union to expose powdered milk. In Russia, this requirement has been in effect since the end of 2008. In Kazakhstan, it will come into force on August 3, 2010, where manufacturers will be required to write on the package what kind of milk - concentrated, condensed or powdered - their products are made from.

But next year, national technical regulations may have to be abolished, and the terminology changed and unified. The fact is that in parallel with the adoption of national standards, work is underway on the EurAsEC dairy technical regulations, which probably will not contain the concept of "milk drink". In any case, they hope so in the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, where they consider the term not entirely correct.

The Belarusian side is concerned not with terminology, but with the fact that the international document being developed in Moscow for the countries of the Customs Union, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan does not weaken the standards existing in the country.

"Belarusian standards are tougher than in Russia, - explained corr. "BR" Leading Engineer of the Dairy Industry Standardization and Rationing Sector of the Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry Tatiana Soroka. - And we defend our demands, because we would not want to lower the achieved level of production."

Nevertheless, surrogates will not completely disappear from the Belarusian shelves. In addition to the well-known creamy-vegetable spreads (the so-called milk-containing margarines, unlike butter), in stores you can be deceived when choosing sour cream and sour-milk drinks. Sour cream is "sour cream" with the addition of vegetable fats. A kefir product is a drink in the production of which ferment of lactic acid organisms and yeast are used instead of kefir fungi.

"To work with kefir fungus, additional premises, sterility, increased control are needed., - explains the origin of "like kefir" Oksana Gakotina. - And the kefir product is easier to prepare: you can’t distinguish it from kefir in taste, but kefir, of course, is healthier".

Therefore, it is important to distinguish yogurt from a thermized yogurt product, which is unlikely to protect against dysbiosis. By the way, taking care of the microflora of children's organisms, Belarus is going to create sour-milk ice cream. If the idea is supported and budget funds are allocated, then in a couple of years all interested enterprises will receive a recipe for ice cream with bifidobacteria free of charge.

As for choosing a good cheese, reading the label is not enough - you need inspiration. There are poetic notes in the advice of "cheese experts". "Cheese should be held, smelled, felt:- speaks Oksana Gakotina. - It is important that the pattern is characteristic. If it is Swiss cheese, then the eyes should be large, round, even. If Dutch, then the eyes are small, evenly distributed. In the group of high-quality Russian cheeses, the voids are slit-like, also evenly spaced. There should not be any torn holes. Press lightly. If it feels like plasticine to the touch, and the label says "semi-solid 45-50% fat", then don't expect anything tasty".

All this is about cheese, and "something yellow with holes" is not discussed at all.

The stores now sell a huge number of all kinds of cheeses, and in large supermarkets the range of types and varieties exceeds hundreds of items!

All of them differ not only in taste characteristics, but also in composition.

In order to reduce the cost of the final product, many manufacturers make cheeses based on vegetable fats, which, if used frequently, can cause serious harm to health.

How to distinguish a cheese product from real cheese? Let's first look at what their fundamental difference is.

Cheese and cheese product... What's the difference?

Just in the ingredients included in the composition. product called "CHEESE" may contain only milk, rennet or its artificial analogues, fermented milk, salt, calcium chloride to improve coagulation.

All this is easily absorbed and digested in the stomach. That's why cheese is priceless for the human body!

The cheese product does not have such useful properties, since it only looks and tastes like cheese, but in reality it is something completely different.

Real milk in it is no more than 20%, and everything else is fat and protein of non-dairy origin. As a rule, manufacturers of such products use cheap coconut or palm oil in their production.

It would seem that it's okay, because vegetable oils are good for health. Depends on what...

So, in the case of palm, rapeseed and coconut oils containing saturated fats, they are even dangerous for the human body.

These oils are converted into transisomeric or transgenic fats and subsequently cause cardiovascular diseases, cholecystitis, obesity, atherosclerosis, vascular thrombosis, etc.

How to distinguish cheese from a cheese product?

Firstly, labeling should be carefully studied. The composition of the product should not contain any vegetable fats, neither palm nor coconut, only milk fat.

Secondly, pay attention to the cost of the product. Vegetable oils are very cheap, which allows the manufacturer to offer the end consumer an attractive price for cheese.

The percentage of these oils can vary, from a small addition to almost complete replacement of milk fat.

In European countries, you can also find similar products in economy class stores, but the percentage of vegetable fats in the composition is very small.

Third, in the case of prepackaged and film-wrapped cheese that does not have a label, it is impossible to find out the composition of the product, one can only rely on one's own experience and intuition.

Press on the cheese with your fingers: if liquid flows out of the cheese, then most likely the product contains vegetable fats.

Fourth, The color of the cheese should be natural and uniform. Too yellow cheese contains artificial colors.

Fifth, pay attention to the size and shape of the cheese eyes. In natural cheese, they are regular in shape with smooth edges, evenly distributed over the entire surface of the cheese.

Large eyes in the middle of the cheese circle and small ones at the edges are a sure sign of a fake.

At sixth, the crust should be free of cracks and plaque, which indicate improper storage and poor quality.

High-quality cheese has a uniform pattern, uniform structure, even symmetrical holes.

If you are a fan of Parmesan and other similar varieties, you should pay attention to the price and reputation of the manufacturer.

In other cases, our test will help you.

Cheese quality test

Take a slice of purchased cheese at room temperature and gently bend it at a right angle.

The cheese must not crack at the bend! It would be right to refuse loose cheese, which crumbles and crumbles easily. Most likely, in front of you is palm oil mixed with milk powder and dyes.

Be vigilant and eat only healthy foods!

Take care of the health of your loved ones!

Of course, we are already accustomed to all sorts of food falsification: there is sour cream, and there is a sour cream product, there are cakes with vegetable cream and “lean butter”. In the same way they distinguish cheese And cheese product.

“Does it matter?” - you ask. After all, these two types of products are almost indistinguishable in taste (there are even very high-quality fakes), and the cost of the latter is much lower.

And I will answer: “Yes. Believe me!” The main argument in favor of cheese is its naturalness. We eat to live, not live to eat. Food should be a source of useful and important elements and compounds. The cheese product is made from harmful palm oil, which provokes the appearance of cholesterol plaques, excess weight and increases the risk of diabetes.

Ways to identify low-quality cheese:

• Bend a slice of cheese (room temperature) at a 90 degree angle. If it cracked at the fold, then you have a fake.
• Normal cheese should not crumble. Otherwise, it is a mixture of palm oil, milk powder and dyes.
• The presence of holes. It may seem ridiculous, but it is the “leakiness” of the cheese that determines its quality. In the world of cheesemakers, a perfectly smooth texture is considered a kind of vice.
• Low price. Sadly, but high-quality hard cheese cannot be cheap.

Cheese composition. Read the label. The composition of real cheese is limited to milk, starter cultures of lactic acid microorganisms, rennet or other milk-clotting preparations of animal origin. The content of salt and calcium chloride is allowed. If any of the following is on the product label, you have a cheese product:

• Powdered milk
• Palm, coconut or other vegetable oil
• Preservatives, stabilizers, dyes and other food additives
• Flavor Substitutes

The presence of vegetable fats in the product is indicated by oily drops on pieces of cheese. If, when cutting the product, a smearing consistency remains on the knife, this is a sign that the cheese is made from powdered milk.

The verdict is clear: it's better to pay a little more, buy a little less cheese, but be absolutely sure that you are eating what is healthy and will not harm your health.

The Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Alexander Tkachev considers it necessary to ban the use of vegetable fats in the production of all dairy products and powdered milk in the manufacture of cheeses. Earlier, on April 2, President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to take measures to control the circulation of "cheese-like" products in the country.

What is the difference between a cheese product and cheese?

Natural cheese must be 100% cow's milk fat, cream and other milk products.

If the amount of milk fat in the product exceeds 50%, then such a product may be called a cheese product. Unlike cheese, the cheese product is made according to the technology of cheese, but vegetable fat is added instead of cream (milk fat), Roskachestvo explained to TASS.

All other products are cheese-like, they can be called "combined product", "cheese product", "processed product" and so on, but not cheese. If they are sold under the guise of cheese, then this is a fake.

Is there a lot of fake cheese on the shelves?

Yes many. At the end of March, the Roskontrol Consumer Union, as part of a large-scale campaign to identify counterfeit products, checked 30 samples of loose and packaged cheese at a price of 250 to 590 rubles per 1 kg. Manufacturers of the product are enterprises of Russia and Belarus.

The examination showed that 60%, that is, 18 out of 30 tested cheeses, are counterfeit. Moreover, if earlier, when examining cheese, experts mainly identified a partial replacement of milk fat, now not a single gram has been found in falsified milk samples. They are made entirely of vegetable fat.

In addition, experts found that in cheeses sold by weight, the percentage of adulteration is higher.

All manufacturers of fake cheeses indicated in the labeling that their products were made in accordance with GOST. This product sells better.

Can a customer tell cheese from a cheese-like product by eye?

Distinguishing a cheese or cheese-like product from cheese by taste, smell, or appearance is not easy for the average consumer. Experts use well-equipped laboratories for this, Roskontrol told TASS. However, a consumer who wants to buy real cheese has a few points.

What should you pay attention to when buying?

• For the price. Too low a price should alert the buyer. During the inspection by Roskontrol, cheese producers said that the minimum selling price of cheese made from premium milk is 410 rubles per 1 kg. That is, in a store, such cheese cannot cost less than 600 rubles per 1 kg. If the manufacturer used powdered milk, then the selling price will decrease by about a quarter.
• For marking. It is necessary to carefully study the packaging, experts of Roskachestvo believe. In order not to mislead the consumer, the technical regulation allows the name of the product - "cheese" - to be applied on the side of the package that is easy to read only if the product corresponds to cheese in composition. In the case of cheese products, the name and information on the use of the milk fat substitute must be indicated on the front side of the packaging, for example: "cheese product with milk fat substitute".
• For composition. The ingredients from which the cheese is made cannot include vegetable fats.
• For manufacturer information. Their absence, as well as incomplete information about the composition, name of the product, its fat content, expiration date, and even more so the complete absence of any information, cast doubt on the quality and origin of the product, Roskontrol believes.

How are cheeses faked?

A counterfeit product can be quite safe, Roskachestvo explained: "This is not a problem of product safety, but questions of misleading the consumer."

According to Roskontrol, most often manufacturers falsify dairy products using a milk fat substitute - a mixture of vegetable fats. The reason is simple: vegetable fats, including palm or coconut fat, are much cheaper than milk fats - about one and a half times. The buyer most often focuses on the price, and in order to reduce it, manufacturers, with the tacit consent of the retail chains, resort to outright deception.

Another way to reduce costs is to speed up technological processes, when, for example, cheese of the Rossiysky variety, which, according to GOST, must ripen for 60 days, ripens for only a month. Young, unripe cheese arrives on the shelves, which affects its quality and organoleptic characteristics - taste, smell, texture. This helps to speed up production and thereby increase the turnover and profit for the manufacturer, they said in Roskachestvo.

Assortment falsification of cheeses can occur due to the substitution of one type of cheese, with a higher fat content, with another low-fat one, or the substitution of one type of cheese for another. For example, assortment falsification includes the replacement of the Dutch round, which has 50% fat, with the Dutch slab, which has only 45% fat.

Is it legal to use powdered milk in cheese production?

The technical regulations do not prohibit the use of powdered milk in the production of cheese, Roskontrol noted. Although GOST does not provide for its use, but the technical conditions (TU) - these are the manufacturer's secret own recipes - this is allowed.

Moreover, since there are no methods for detecting powdered milk, it is widely used without any labeling in the production of many dairy products. Hence the often unsatisfactory taste characteristics of dairy products, noted with the Union of Consumers.

Maria Selivanova