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Processed_cheese

Level 4 — Significant concerns

Processed_Cheese is a other additive listed in the FDA food-additive database.

Also: pasteurized processed cheese, American cheese food, cheese product, Velveeta, Kraft Singles

What the research says

James L. Kraft's 1915 invention: ground cheddar cooked with continual stirring (later replaced by sodium phosphate emulsifier) so fat doesn't separate. Sodium phosphate more than doubles the sodium content vs. natural cheese and strips most cheese flavor — which is why processed cheese tastes mild. [salt-sugar-fat] James L. Kraft's 1915 invention: ground cheddar cooked with continual stirring (later replaced by sodium phosphate emulsifier) so fat doesn't separate. Sodium phosphate more than doubles the sodium content vs. natural cheese and strips most cheese flavor — which is why processed cheese tastes mild.

Regulatory status

  • Notes: From enrichment source only, not in Winter Dictionary

Sources

  • Salt Sugar Fat (Moss) — Chapter 8 (Liquid Gold): The stirring that Kraft had done in his copper kettle was replaced by sodium phosphate, which more than doubled the sodium content of processed cheese