Dairy Ingredients for Food Processing

300 Chapter 11

Table 11.12. Major categories of process cheese produced and sold in the United States.

Category Major ingredients and other optional ingredients

(and their permitted levels)

Moisture

(% w/w)

Fat

(% w/w)

pH

PC^1

(21CFR133.169)

Cheese emulsifying salts ( ≤ 3% w/w of the fi nal

product)

Acidifying agent

Cream, anhydrous milk fat, dehydrated cream

(weight of the fat derived is ≤ 5% w/w of the fi nal

product)

Water, salt, colors, spices, fl avors, enzyme - modifi ed

cheese, mold inhibitors ( ≤ 0.2 w/w or ≤ 0.3 w/w of

the fi nal product), anti - sticking agent ( ≤ 0.03 w/w

of the fi nal product)

≤ 40 ≥ 30 ≥ 5.3

PCF^2

(21CFR133.173)

Cheese ( ≥ 51% w/w of the fi nal product)

Other optional ingredients and their permitted levels

include all of the ingredients allowed in PC in

addition to milk, skim milk, buttermilk, and

cheese whey

≤ 44 ≥ 23 ≥ 5.0

PCS^3

(21CFR133.179)

Cheese ( ≥ 51% w/w of the fi nal product)

Other optional ingredients and their permitted levels

include all of the ingredients allowed in PCF in

addition to food gums, sweetening agents, and

nisin ( ≤ 250 ppm of the fi nal product)

44 – 60 ≥ 20 ≥ 4.0

PCP^4

Substitute cheese/

imitation cheese

The amount of Cheese, the type and amount of

other optional ingredients, and the compositional

requirements are not defi ned; however, the fi nal

product should have organoleptic, physical,

functional, and nutritional equivalence in terms

of ingredients and composition to either PC, PCF,

or PCS (21CFR 101.13(d) and 21CFR 130.10)

• – –

1 PC, pasteurized processed cheese
2 PCF, pasteurized processed cheese food
3 PCS,pasteurized processed cheese spread
4 PCP, pasteurized processed cheese product
Adapted from Kapoor and Metzger (2008)

made from cheddar cheese in the United
States.
In addition to the above - mentioned cate-
gories, process cheeses also are presently
sold under an additional category in the U.S.
market, pasteurized process cheese product
(PCP). PCP encompasses all the process
cheese type products that do not meet
the standard defi nition of PC, PCF, and
PCS, either in terms of the ingredients added
and/or the compositional specifi cations as
described by CFR. PCP can further be
subcategorized into substitute cheese and/
or imitation cheese, respectively (21CFR
101.13(d) and 21 CFR 130.10) (CFR 2009b ,
2009c ) (Table 11.12 ). The nomenclature and
labeling of PCP are still unclear and some-
times manufacturers may require special

petitioning with the FDA. Substitute and imi-

tation cheeses are discussed in detail later in

this chapter.

Process Cheese Manufacture

Figure 11.6 indicates a schematic fl ow chart

of process cheese manufacture. Process

cheese manufacture involves two main

stages:

1. Ingredient selection and formulation to
   prepare a homogeneous pre - blend


2. Cooking of the pre - blend to prepare a
   pasteurized, homogeneous semi - solid
   product followed by forming, packaging,
   cooling, and storage to produce the fi nal
   process cheese