Cheese product: what is it, how is it produced and can it be consumed without harm to health?

Cheese, as one of the most common dairy products, often appears on the tables of any family. The benefit and taste of cheese is difficult to overestimate.Unfortunately, the price of this product does not always allow the average buyer to make the cheese part of the daily diet. Recently, cheese products are increasingly coming to the attention of buyers, attracting attention with its more favorable price. Despite the similarity of the name with all the usual cheese, this kind of product is difficult to consider as its counterpart.

The basis for the manufacture of cheese is milk. The natural product consists precisely of this ingredient. All additional products used in cheese production are natural and cannot harm the human body, as they are fully absorbed. So, for the conversion of milk into cheese are used: rennet enzyme in its pure form or its analogues, fermented milk and calcium chloride, which provides milk with good coagulation. All listed ingredients are completely harmless to humans; moreover, they have a positive effect on the body.

The rest of the mass required for the production of initial raw materials is replaced by proteins and fats not of animal, but of plant origin. Most often, palm milk or coconut oil acts as a substitute for cow's milk. At first glance, it does not look threatening. Vegetable oils are quite applicable in the field of food production. Therein lies the danger, since not all vegetable oils are safe for human health. Some of them are directly harmful to the body. Among such oils that are harmful to humans, coconut and palm oils are present, due to the high content of saturated fats in them, which tend to be transformed into transgenic and transisomeric fats. Among the diseases that are fraught with fascination with products containing vegetable oils are present such as obesity, disorders in the work of the cardiovascular and immune systems.

The production of cheese product entirely and completely subordinated to the same goal - to get great benefits at low cost. Cow's milk as the main raw material for the production of cheese at its price can not be compared with vegetable oils. The price of the cheese product is noticeably lower than the high-grade cheese of good quality. This is what manufacturers of the cheese product play, luring potential buyers at a much better price. According to experts, replacing cow's milk with vegetable fats allows producers of cheese and cheese products to save up to 30% of costs. This can not affect the final price offered to the buyer.

Cheese product is always much cheaper. Due to the fact that cheap raw materials are used for the production of cheese products, the prices of high-quality cheese and cheese products will differ significantly. But even in the segment of cheese products, their cost may vary depending on the composition. The price of a cheese product decreases in proportion to the increase in its content of vegetable oils. The cheapest is the product, in which milk fats are completely replaced by vegetable fats. In Europe, unlike in Russia, cheese products are sold in economy class stores even when they contain vegetable fats in small quantities. Another feature of European marketing is that in stores and supermarkets, cheese and cheese products are located on different shelves.

In Russia, the appearance of a cheese product as a cheese substitute was a forced measure. Due to large-scale changes taking place inside the country since the beginning of the 90s, Russia's agriculture has come to an extreme degree of destruction.The farms were massively closed, agricultural complexes were ruined and could not fully provide the manufacturer with raw materials. The price of cow's milk has become so high that the manufacturer was forced to replace it in search of means to meet the population’s demand for cheese and cheese products. The program for the development of the production of cheese products was supported by the state, but was categorically not approved by the professionals in the field of cheese making. The main argument for criticism was precisely the harmful effects on the human body of vegetable fats. However, under the pressure of circumstances, the criticism came to naught and manufacturers began to use massively the admixture of vegetable oils in the production of cheese.

Thus, according to the latest inspection of the State Control, one kilogram of cheese from the highest quality milk has a minimum price of 410 rubles. Taking into account transport costs and the seller’s mark-ups, the price in stores for one kilogram of cheese cannot be lower than 600 rubles. If the price for one kilogram of the product is 450 rubles and less, the buyer should have reason to doubt that there is natural cheese in front of him.

There are certain technical regulations requirements, according to which the packaging of cheese and cheese products must be properly designed. The name "cheese" can be located only on the product that corresponds to this in its composition. If the manufacturer offers the buyer a cheese product, then on the front side of the package all components of the product must be indicated on a mandatory basis, indicating the exact amount of vegetable fats in its composition. In the case when cow's milk substitutes were used in the production of cheese, but the name “cheese” is indicated on the packaging, the manufacturer deliberately misleads the buyer, thereby breaking the law. Detailed information on what exactly should be indicated on the packaging of any product is contained in GOST R 51074-2003.

Before buying, you must carefully examine the composition of the product. If the buyer intends to buy just cheese, then you need to pay attention to the absence of vegetable oils, soy, milk powder and other impurities. Natural cheese is cow's milk, sourdough, rennet, and nothing else.

In modern supermarkets on the shelves, you can often see cheese in vacuum packaging, on which there is not enough information about the manufacturer and composition. The same goes for stores where you can buy it by weight. In the case when it is not possible to obtain reliable and complete information about cheese, it remains to rely on our own knowledge and feelings.

Cheese, if it is made from cow's milk without the use of vegetable substitutes, will not give water or juice when pressed on it. Liquid can flow only from the cheese product, even when lightly pressed. The color of the natural version should not be too bright and conspicuous. The bright yellow color indicates that dyes were used in its production. The surface should be evenly painted, without noticeable changes in color and streaks. Natural cheese, if you take a slice and try to fold it, will not break, but only bend smoothly. Cheese product will not withstand pressure and breaks at the bend.

In the natural version, the eyes (holes) are arranged symmetrically, all with smooth edges. In the substitute, large eyes are located in the center, decreasing in diameter to the edge of the cheese head. The crust of cheese should be without cracks and fractures.Its surface should not have a raid, this will indicate that the cheese was stored with proper observance of temperature conditions and transportation rules were not violated.

Cheese product does not go to any comparison with natural cheese on the content of nutrients. Advocates of cheese products often mention cellulose contained in plants, from which oils cheese products are made. But the same fiber can be obtained from vegetables and fruits in pure form; cheese is designed to give the body completely different elements. First of all, cheese is a supplier of pure protein. Cheese product practically does not carry in its composition any nutritional value. Vegetable proteins and fats need long-term technical processing before becoming a raw material for cheese production. As a result of a variety of complex technological processes, there is nothing left in them that could benefit the human body. On the contrary, transformed fats become so active that they can interact with cells, causing damage to the immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems.

Eating foods with GMOs can cause irreparable damage to health, with a view even to future generations. However, not all cheese products are harmful to health. It all depends on the quality of vegetable oils and fats used in the production. Vegetable fats contain a lot of nutrients, but only on condition that these fats are of good quality. In addition, vegetable fats are able to increase the shelf life of the product and improve its taste. Due to the fact that manufacturers are striving to reduce their costs, very few cheese products of really decent level fall onto the store shelves.

Despite the fact that between cheese and cheese product there is a similarity in the name, production technology, and even taste, in essence - these are completely different things. Natural cheese carries the human body invaluable benefits in the form of protein, amino acids and extractive substances. All elements of the natural variation are absorbed and have a beneficial effect on the state of the gastrointestinal tract and the skeletal system.

Cheese products do not carry an open threat to health only in case of their high quality.What is the difference between palm and coconut oil, of which they are most often made? After their frequent and abundant consumption, one can become a patient of a cardiologist, an immunologist and a gastroenterologist. If we talk about the price, this substitute has a clear advantage over cheese. It is attractive from the point of view of its price category. Nevertheless, they should not be abused to the detriment of one’s own health.

How to distinguish the cheese from the cheese product, see in the video.