Have you ever glanced at the ingredients in a shredded cheese package or a quart of ice cream and wondered, "What is cellulose and why is it here?"
The Wall Street Journal took a closer look at this popular food additive — made from wood pulp or other plant fibers — and the many roles it plays in the packaged foods we eat.
In packaged shredded cheese, cellulose is used to coat the pieces of cheese, blocking out the moisture that causes them to clump. But that is just the beginning; cellulose is also used to replace fat and give a creamier feel to foods like low-fat ice cream, to thicken and stabilize, and to boost fiber content.
Nutritionists say the insoluble fiber in cellulose is no different from those found in vegetables, and offers the same health benefits.
"Cellulose is cellulose," regardless of if whether it comes from wood pulp or celery, says Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a group that advocates healthier, more nutritious food. He says no research points to health problems related to consuming cellulose.
We'd take a pot of beans over cooked, chemically processed wood fiber any day, but we're still glad to finally know a little more about this popular additive.
• Read the article: Why Wood Pulp Makes Ice Cream Creamier
Have you ever noticed cellulose listed in the ingredients of a food you eat?
Related: What's the Deal with Xanthan Gum?
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Just buy Italian mozzarella (if you can get it over there) and you get just 100% mozzarella. No cellulose or other additives.
And why someone would want to buy "shredded" mozzarella is beyond my comprehension. It takes possibly 30" work to chop one up.
Ups! I overlooked your question.
The answer is no. And I do read all the labels before buying.
Probably is used so much because is much cheaper that say cheese or meat ( I just read this article) and now they are trying to convince us it's healthy.
If I want to have more fiber in my diet I eat more vegetables or more whole-flour bred.
The whole idea of preshredded cheese drives me nuts. It's not that hard to shred cheese! The "cellulose is cellulose" argument also drives me nuts. Eating chemically processed wood pulp is not the same thing as eating fresh vegetables.
Blech. Pre-shredded cheese is absolutely tasteless. I know that's not the main topic, but really.
Nope, I've never noticed cellulose as an ingredient.
All cellulose is the same? Sounds awfully similar to the "fats are interchangeable" argument pioneered with the advent of partially hydrogenated oils. I am betting that wood pulp cellulose is highly processed and treated before being added to food products. A stalk of celery is exactly what it appears to be.
i agree that shredded cheese ain't the best, but for busy parents who work full time and try to make decent home-cooked food for themselves and their kids, this saves them a helluva lot of time. i think that right now our biggest worry is the use of pesticides on our fruits and veggies. organic is sooooo expensive! we buy organic when we can, and we always get organic milk because i don't want my daughter getting her period or growing her boobies in elementary school, but it sure is expensive! we generally pick our safe-food battles according to our income. it sucks, but its true - for a lot of people.
no, i haven't seen it in the foods i eat, but i don't eat processed food.
For me that doesn't even look like mozzarella! Strange things you Americans eat.....
I buy pre-shredded cheese to keep from eating chunks of it as a mindless and calorie-laden snack. I found that I am not inclined to reach into a bag of shreds for a snack, and now cheese has truly become a garnish in my life. After reading this, i will just have to toughen up and shred my own as soon as I bring it in the house. I do not need additional fiber like this!
AccordingToLia, don't forget the corn ad campaign touting the "fact" that HFCS and sugar are digested in the same manner...
I include very few commercially processed foods in my diet, and this falls under that umbrella.
I hate pre-shredded cheese. Aside from that it never meets my expectations of what cheese should taste like, if I want shredded cheese 90% of the time it's because I'm melting it in something. In that case, it always screws up my dish because of the coating that does not allow it to melt into the other food. I personally *hate* shredding cheese but it's a necessary evil. I wish I could convince my husband to do it...
For those who want to save some time or hate shredding cheese, I have a mill style shredder by Pamper Chef which was probably the best $30 I have spent. Bonus clean up is simple: dish washer.
Actually, once you become aware, this is a very popular additive in food, drugs, beauty aids, etc. I used to work in the plants where they made it. They use it for "mouth-feel" or as a thickener in a great number of other products as well. Just a heads up that it isn't just cheese- cheese isn't even the most common.
I noticed it a long time ago. I usually shred my own cheese, but I know that working in restaurants, and eating at other people's homes, I've had more than my fair share of wood-enhanced cheese.
What's in the bag in that picture doesn't look remotely like cheese of any kind, and especially not like mozzarella. Anyone who would buy rubbish like that deserves what they get. I'm not aware of ever buying any 'food' product containing cellulose, but I don't buy junk.
I saw this ingredient 20+ years ago in the white bread my kids loved so much. I then saw a USA Today article about it and stopped buying white bread altogether. We switched to Roman Meal (cellulose-free in those days) and I personally made white *French* bread from scratch. Nothing new under the sun. We eat no/little processed food at this house either.