For Jamaicans, cheese is not simply another item in the refrigerator. Put a thick slice between two pieces of Easter bun, and it practically becomes a cultural institution. We grate it over pasta, put it in sandwiches, melt it on pizza, and add it to just about anything that could benefit from a little cheesy goodness. But here is a question you probably have not asked while standing in the supermarket: Is everything we casually call cheese actually cheese?

Walk through the refrigerated section, and you may find blocks, slices and spreads sitting beside each other, all looking remarkably similar. Some are labelled cheddar cheese. Others may be processed cheese, cheese food, cheese spread, cheese-flavoured products or products designed to look, taste and melt like cheese. They are not necessarily the same thing.

That does not mean one is automatically unsafe or that consumers should panic about “fake cheese”. It does, however, raise an important question about food standards and labelling. When you pay for cheese, what exactly should you expect to be getting?

Cheese actually has a definition

We tend to think of cheese as something we simply recognise when we see it, but internationally there are standards defining what cheese is. The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international food standards-setting body established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, develops international standards, guidelines and codes of practice aimed at protecting consumer health and ensuring fair practices in food trade.

Within Codex, milk and dairy products fall under the work of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP). Over the years, CCMMP has developed standards for products including cheese, butter, milk powders and specific cheeses such as Cheddar, Gouda, Mozzarella, Brie and Camembert. The Codex General Standard for Cheese defines cheese around milk and milk-derived materials and the coagulation of milk protein. In other words, there is more behind the word “cheese” than its colour, shape and ability to melt.

Even Cheddar has rules

This becomes even more interesting when we look at Cheddar — probably one of the cheese names most familiar to Jamaican consumers. Codex has a specific Standard for Cheddar, CXS 263-1966. Under that standard, cheddar has a minimum milkfat-in-dry-matter content of 22 per cent, although the reference range is 48 to 60 per cent. Minimum dry matter requirements also increase according to the amount of fat in the cheese.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its own legally defined standard of identity for cheddar cheese. Under US regulations, cheddar can contain no more than 39 per cent moisture, and the solids must contain at least 50 per cent milkfat.

Why would the law get that specific about cheese? Standards of identity exist partly to ensure that consumers receive what they reasonably expect when they purchase a food carrying a familiar name. The FDA began establishing these standards in 1939, in part to address economically motivated adulteration, and today has more than 250 standards of identity covering foods ranging from milk and cheese to bread, peanut butter and ketchup.

As the FDA itself explains, when you buy something labelled cheddar cheese, you expect it to actually be Cheddar cheese. Looking orange, coming in a block, and melting beautifully between two slices of bread does not, by itself, make something Cheddar.

The Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products sets global standards for dairy items, defining cheese production and specifics for varieties like cheddar and mozzarella. and Mozzarella.

Then there is processed cheese

The word “processed” can sometimes make a food sound artificial or somehow less legitimate. But processed cheese is not “fake cheese”. It is generally made by combining cheese with other permitted ingredients and applying heat to create a smooth, consistent product with particular characteristics, including how it melts and spreads.

The US FDA recognises different categories, including pasteurized process cheese, process cheese food and process cheese spread. The differences largely relate to their composition, including how much cheese, moisture and fat they contain.

The important point for consumers is that these names are not interchangeable. Cheddar cheese, processed cheese, cheese food and cheese spread are different products, even though we may casually refer to all of them as simply “cheese”.

And then there is another category altogether — products designed to look, taste and behave like cheese, but which may replace some of the traditional dairy components with other ingredients.

So when is “cheese” not really cheese?

This brings us to cheese analogues. A cheese analogue is a product formulated to provide some of the characteristics consumers associate with cheese, including flavour, colour, texture, shreddability and melting behaviour. Depending on the formulation, however, some traditional dairy components may be partly or completely replaced by other ingredients.

One of the most important examples is the replacement of milkfat with vegetable fat or oil. Products may also contain combinations of milk proteins, starches, emulsifying salts, stabilisers, flavours and colours to achieve the desired characteristics. These products have practical commercial uses. They can be less expensive to manufacture, provide particular melting characteristics and be formulated specifically for pizza, prepared foods, catering and food manufacturing.

If I knowingly choose a cheese analogue because it costs less and gives me exactly the performance I need, that is an informed purchasing decision. If I believe I am paying for traditional Cheddar cheese when the product is actually formulated differently, that becomes a labelling and consumer-transparency issue.

Read the name before the picture

The large photograph on the package may show a beautiful grilled cheese sandwich with an impressive cheese pull. The product may be orange. It may be packaged in a block. The branding may even prominently use imagery that we associate with dairy.

Firstly, turn the package over. First, look for the actual name of the food rather than relying solely on the brand name or pictures on the package. Is it identified as cheddar cheese, processed cheese, cheese food, cheese spread, or something else?

Secondly, look at the ingredient list. Traditional cheese formulations will predominantly reflect dairy ingredients associated with cheesemaking. If you see ingredients such as vegetable or palm oil, starch and various milk proteins high on the ingredient list of a product you assumed was conventional cheddar cheese, take another look at the actual product name.

The presence of vegetable oil does not automatically make a food unsafe. Neither does the use of starch, emulsifying salts, or other approved food ingredients automatically make a product harmful. The issue is whether consumers understand what they are purchasing.

Why does this matter in Jamaica?

Jamaica’s labelling framework is based on the same fundamental principle of truthful representation.

Under the Standards (Labelling of Processed Food) Regulations, the label of a processed food must state the name of the food on the principal display panel, and that name must indicate the true nature of the food. The label must also carry a list of ingredients in decreasing order of proportion.

Those requirements become particularly important when products look similar but are compositionally different. For the average consumer standing in a supermarket, the distinction between cheese, processed cheese and a cheese analogue may seem overly technical. Standards exist precisely because consumers cannot determine a product’s composition simply by looking at it.

The same issue extends beyond the supermarket. Consider pizza, cheese patties, sandwiches, burgers and prepared foods sold by restaurants and food-service businesses. Cheese analogues are manufactured specifically for many of these applications because they can provide predictable melting and other functional properties. As consumers, how often do we ask what type of “cheese” is actually being used? Perhaps more importantly, if a food business represents an ingredient to consumers as cheese, should the product being used reasonably meet that description?

What about nutrition?

There is another temptation we should avoid: Assuming that one category is automatically healthier than another. Natural cheese, processed cheese products and cheese analogues can differ considerably in their nutritional composition. Protein, sodium, saturated fat, calcium and total fat will depend on the particular formulation.

Replacing milkfat with vegetable fat, for example, does not by itself tell you whether the resulting product has a better or worse nutritional profile. The type and amount of fat matter. So do the sodium content, protein content, serving size, and the rest of the diet.

The nutrition facts panel therefore provides another useful comparison tool. Put two products side by side and compare them rather than assuming that the one that sounds more “natural” must automatically be nutritionally superior.

Know what you are buying

None of this means you need to abandon your favourite block of cheese or interrogate the pizza shop before ordering dinner. It simply means we should pay more attention to what food labels are actually telling us.

Standards of identity may sound like dry regulatory documents, but their purpose is surprisingly practical. They help establish what consumers should reasonably receive when familiar food names such as cheddar, mozzarella or cheese are used.

They also help protect honest manufacturers. A company producing cheese according to a defined standard should not have to compete unfairly with a cheaper, differently formulated product being represented to consumers as though the two were identical.

The next time you reach for that familiar orange block in the supermarket, don’t stop at the picture on the front. Read the name. Read the ingredients. Compare the nutrition information. Know what you are paying for. Because when it comes to cheese, apparently, cheese isn’t always just cheese.

About the Author

Allison Richards is a food safety communicator, certified trainer and the founder of The Food Safety Girl®, a consumer awareness platform promoting food safety in Jamaica and the Caribbean. She is the Caribbean Chapter Director for Women in Food Safety (WIFS) and host of The Big Bite Food Safety Show®. With over 15 years of experience in food safety regulation, she is committed to public education and consumer empowerment. Through public education initiatives, including free community webinars, she continues to create space for learning, dialogue, and practical food safety awareness.

Allison Richards | thefoodsafetygirlja@gmail.com.