How to determine the authenticity of cheese at home. How to distinguish cheese from rennet product? Real cheese and its “modern analogue”

Cheese is a fermented milk product obtained by coagulating milk protein with rennet or lactic acid bacteria, followed by processing. The high content of protein (25%), milk fat (60%), minerals with vitamins, as well as the good digestibility of these components have made it popular in a healthy diet. The taste qualities of this product played a role - in many countries (France, Italy, Holland) it is a key component of the national cuisine. Obviously, the high demand and very expensive production of cheese contributes to the spread of counterfeit cheese with the addition of foreign impurities. To obtain benefits and pleasure from consuming a product, you need to know how to determine its naturalness and quality at home or at the counter.

The dangers of eating low-quality cheese

The technology for making cheese provides it with an interesting taste and benefits, but it can also cause serious health problems. Even a real product sometimes causes disorders such as migraines, allergies, and the formation of stones in the kidneys and bile ducts, especially with constant use. Cheese made in violation of technology or improperly stored is often infected with harmful microorganisms and can cause acute food poisoning:

salmonellosis - infection by the Salmonella bacterium, accompanied by fever, headache, vomiting, indigestion, dehydration, and kidney failure;
coli infections - acute gastrointestinal disorders, meningitis in newborns caused by Escherichia coli with a high probability of irreversible damage, as well as death if left untreated;
brucellosis is an acute lesion of all body systems caused by the bacterium Brucella, manifested by pain in the joints, weakness, confusion, inflammation of brain tissue, etc.;
listeriosis is infection with the microbe Listeria, especially dangerous for pregnant women due to the increased risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, and fetal pathologies.

These diseases are most often caused by cheese made from insufficiently pasteurized milk or stored unhygienically. An uncontaminated cheese product that contains impurities can cause food allergies to preservatives and dyes, migraines, increased anxiety, and insomnia. With the introduction of retaliatory sanctions against European countries, the amount of illegally imported or counterfeit Parmesan, mozzarella, Roquefort, Maasdam and other expensive varieties has increased sharply. In such conditions, control of their quality by supervisory authorities is very difficult, which increases risks for Russian buyers.

Definition of naturalness

A wide variety of varieties and brands of cheese makes it necessary to carefully choose between real ones, prepared according to traditional recipes. Visually distinguishing a natural product from a fake one is often very difficult; an inexperienced buyer is unlikely to cope with this task. Counterfeit manufacturers have learned to give their product the external characteristics of real cheese and even imitate its taste with the help of additives - flavorings, thickeners, stabilizers, etc. If such a product is prepared in compliance with sanitary standards and is not contaminated with bacteria, it will not cause harm, but in any case In this case, this will be deceiving the buyer. Today, milk producers produce cheese products completely legally and openly. It imitates a natural product, but is not a counterfeit, but a cheaper imitation. This rule only works if the label indicates the name “cheese product” and compliance with GOST 53512-200. At the same time, some manufacturers engage in deliberate fraud, labeling products with extraneous additives as natural. In addition, natural dairy products usually cost more than their imitations (even high-quality ones) - in the case of cheese, the difference is 100-150 rubles per kg.

To recognize the presence of impurities in a purchase, it is enough to subject it to a little research, which can be done at home:

the release of a large amount of oily liquid when pressing the test product with your fingers indicates the presence of vegetable fats, for example, palm oil;
uneven and too bright color (with the exception of certain varieties) is a sure sign of excess dyes;
the concentration of large holes with uneven edges in the central part of the cut is characteristic of counterfeit goods;
the appearance of cracks where a thin slice is bent at a right angle indicates the presence of milk powder or excess vegetable fats;
when stored in air for a long time, the counterfeit product cracks, and noticeable drops of oil appear on its darkened surface.

Detection of a counterfeit does not automatically mean that it is harmful - it only deceives the buyer regarding its composition and price. If the product was manufactured in a modern factory in compliance with hygienic and technological standards, its use will not cause any harm to the body (in the absence of allergies to foreign components). However, you can at any time demand compensation from the seller or manufacturer for violation of your consumer rights.

Quality and safety testing

Even natural cheese can be dangerous if it does not meet quality and sanitary standards. Solid and melted varieties of this product have a certain difference in shelf life (usually 3-4 months), but in any case can spoil if improperly stored or processed. The following signs may indicate this:

The appearance of a white coating on the surface of hard varieties indicates the active activity of microorganisms or a violation of storage conditions;
The formation of clearly defined greenish, gray or black spots and stains means the development of mold in the cheese, which, with the exception of some varieties (for example, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, Dorblu) is a sign of spoilage;
A sharp unpleasant smell of ammonia or sour milk indicates expired milk; normally, the aroma and taste of cheese should not cause rejection (with the exception of exotic blue varieties);
The viscous, spreading consistency of the declared hard variety indicates that it is better not to eat it, although this is the norm for melted or soft varieties.

No one is completely immune from purchasing counterfeit or expired cheese, especially in food markets, where quality control of goods is noticeably lower. However, the buyer can significantly reduce this risk by paying close attention to what he is purchasing. Knowing the signs of counterfeiting is our main and most effective weapon against the dishonesty of individual manufacturers and sellers.

Roskontrol and Roskachestvo

The Russian quality system tested Rossiysky cheese from 30 producers using 77 quality and safety indicators. The results of the study dated January 12, 2018 can be found on the official website: https://roskachestvo.gov.ru/researches/syr-rossiyskiy/.

Roskontrol has also repeatedly checked this fermented milk product. One of the latest studies (dated 10/30/17), in which 6 samples were tested, can be found on the official website: https://roscontrol.com/journal/tests/rossiyskiy-sir-provereno-palm-net/.

And here is a fresh New Year's study https://roscontrol.com/category/produkti/molochnie_produkti/siri/

The abundance of cheese varieties on the shelves of our stores makes our eyes wide open. How to choose high-quality hard cheese from this variety, because manufacturers, trying to reduce the cost of the product, use harmful food additives and even milk substitutes in its production? We looked for the answer to this question in our article.

What is cheese made from?

High-quality hard cheese should be made from:

milk. It determines the fat content of the product: the more milk, the higher the calorie content of the cheese wheel. Of course, someone may object: milk can be harmful to health, we already wrote about this in the article “Is it harmful for men to drink milk?” . But in general, there are still more benefits from this natural product than harm;

sourdough Its role is played by lactic or propionic acid bacteria that curdle milk;

rennet element. Previously, it was used as an enzyme of animal origin, extracted from calf stomachs. Nowadays, manufacturers are increasingly replacing rennets with synthetic analogues.

Cheese can be disappointing. It can be boring, it can be primitive, it can be too sophisticated. However, cheese is still milk's leap into immortality. Clifton Fadiman, American writer

Cheese made from the above elements will have a white color, a bland taste and a short shelf life - a maximum of a month at low temperatures. To give the cheese an appetizing yellowish tint and a pleasant taste, as well as to extend its life, the following is added to it:

table salt. It affects taste and serves as a natural preservative;

annatto extract. A dye of vegetable origin, designated on the packaging as E 160b. It is considered safe for humans, although in some cases it can cause an allergic reaction;

beta carotene. A natural dye that gives cheese an orange tint. It is marked with the alphanumeric code E 160a and is absolutely non-toxic;

calcium chloride (calcium chloride). A hardener that can also increase the volume of the product. It is designated E 509 and does not pose a danger if the permissible dose is not exceeded. Otherwise it causes intestinal irritation;

potassium nitrate (potassium nitrate, E 252). A preservative that seems to be a non-toxic substance, however, its use in baby food is prohibited. Some scientists claim: this additive is a carcinogen and can cause cancer and nervous disorders.

How to fake cheese

However, if you strictly follow the standards, the resulting product is quite expensive - at least 350 rubles / kg, and ripened cheeses - 500-1000 rubles. To make it cheaper, manufacturers resort to various tricks that have a positive effect on cost, but a negative impact on quality.

If a country does not have at least fifty varieties of cheese and good wine, then the country has reached the end of its rope. Salvador Dali, Spanish painter

The most common “trick” to reduce the cost is replacing milk with palm oil. Despite the existing prejudice against this product, this vegetable fat can be harmless if you do not exceed established consumption standards and use edible grades of oil.

Unfortunately, in Russia, in the production of cheeses, cheaper industrial palm oil is often used or the limits on its use are not observed. As a result, we get an ersatz product that negatively affects the cardiovascular system. Such a surrogate should be called a cheese product, but unscrupulous manufacturers often “forget” to indicate this on the packaging. Therefore, it is better not to trust labels, but to learn to distinguish hard cheese from a fake.

See more about ways to fake cheeses here:

How to distinguish a quality product?

There are five rules for recognizing quality cheese:

a product made from vegetable fats is more elastic, you can easily make a ball from it, like plasticine, but not from real cheese made from milk;

real hard cheese does not “sweat” - droplets of “moisture” appearing on a slice taken from the refrigerator mean that it contains vegetable fats;

the presence of a whitish coating indicates spoilage of the cheese, looseness indicates freezing, the presence of bubbles under the rind indicates an excess of bacteria due to improper storage;

The color of the cheese should be uniform, but not bright, and the holes should be evenly distributed. By the way, the more regular the shape of these holes, the more “noble” the product;

An excess of chemical additives that retain water can be determined by dripping iodine onto hard cheese. A blue spot that appears will mean: you are “lucky” to buy a low-quality product.

Don't let yourself be deceived, and let the food on your table always be fresh and of high quality.

Take it for yourself and tell your friends!

What is the difference between a cheese product and cheese?

Natural cheese must consist of 100% milk fats from cow's milk, cream and other milk processing products.

If the amount of milk fat in a product exceeds 50%, then such a product can be called a cheese product. Unlike cheese, a cheese product is made using cheese technology, but instead of cream (milk fat), vegetable fat is added, Roskoshestvo explained to TASS.

All other products are cheese-like, they can be called “combined product”, “cheese product”, “processed product” and so on, but not cheese. If they are sold under the guise of cheese, then it is counterfeit.

Are there a lot of fake cheeses on the shelves?

Yes many. At the end of March, the Roskontrol Consumer Union, as part of a large-scale campaign to identify counterfeit products, checked 30 samples of loose and packaged cheese priced from 250 to 590 rubles per 1 kg. Manufacturers of the product are enterprises from Russia and Belarus.

The examination showed that 60%, that is, 18 out of 30 tested cheeses, are counterfeit. Moreover, if earlier, when examining cheese, experts mainly identified a partial replacement of milk fat, now not a single gram was found in falsified milk samples. They consist entirely of vegetable fat.

In addition, experts have found that cheeses sold by weight have a higher percentage of counterfeit products.

All manufacturers of fake cheeses indicated in the labeling that their products were made in accordance with GOST. This product sells better.

Can a buyer distinguish cheese from a cheese-like product by eye?

It is not easy for the average consumer to distinguish a cheese or cheese-like product from cheese by taste, smell or appearance. Experts use well-equipped laboratories for this, Roskontrol told TASS. However, a consumer who wants to buy real cheese has a few points to consider.

What should you pay attention to when purchasing?

For the price. A price that is too low should alert the buyer. During an inspection by Roskontrol, cheese producers said that the minimum selling price for cheese made from premium milk is 410 rubles per 1 kg. That is, in a store such cheese cannot cost less than 600 rubles per 1 kg. If the manufacturer used milk powder, the selling price will decrease by about a quarter.
For marking. It is necessary to carefully study the packaging, according to Roskachestvo experts. In order not to mislead the consumer, technical regulations allow the name of the product - “cheese” - to be placed on the easy-to-read side of the package only if the product’s composition corresponds to cheese. If we are talking about cheese products, then the name and information about the use of a milk fat substitute must be indicated on the front side of the package, for example: “cheese product with a milk fat substitute.”
On the composition. The ingredients from which the cheese is made cannot include vegetable fats.
For information about the manufacturer. Their absence, as well as incomplete information about the composition, name of the product, its fat content, expiration date, and even more so the complete absence of any information, cast doubt on the quality and origin of the product, according to Roskontrol.

How are cheeses adulterated?

A counterfeit product can be quite safe, Roskoshchestvo explained: “This is not a problem of product safety, but issues of misleading the consumer.”

According to Roskontrol, most often manufacturers falsify dairy products using a milk fat substitute - a mixture of vegetable fats. The reason is simple: vegetable fats, including palm or coconut fat, are much cheaper than dairy fats - about one and a half times. The buyer most often focuses on price, and in order to reduce it, manufacturers, with the tacit consent of retail chains, resort to outright deception.

Another way to reduce costs is to speed up technological processes, when, for example, “Russian” cheese, which according to GOST should ripen for 60 days, ripens in just a month. Young, unripe cheese arrives on the shelves, which affects its quality and organoleptic characteristics - taste, smell, consistency. This helps speed up production and thereby increase turnover and profits for the manufacturer, Roskachestvo said.

Assorted falsification of cheeses can occur due to the substitution of one type of cheese with a higher fat content, another with a low fat content, or the substitution of one type of cheese for another. For example, assortment falsification includes the substitution of Dutch round, which has 50% fat, with Dutch bar, which has only 45% fat.

Is it allowed to use milk powder in cheese production?

The technical regulations do not prohibit the use of milk powder in cheese production, Roskontrol noted. Although GOST does not provide for its use, the technical specifications (TU) - these are the manufacturer's own secret recipes - allow it.

Moreover, since there are no methods for identifying milk powder, it is widely used without any labeling in the production of many dairy products. Hence the often unsatisfactory taste characteristics of dairy products, noted the consumer union.

Maria Selivanova

How to distinguish cheese from a cheese product without harming your health?

Stores now sell a huge number of all kinds of cheeses, and in large supermarkets the range of types and varieties exceeds hundreds of items! All of them differ not only in taste characteristics, but also in composition.

To reduce the cost of the final product, many manufacturers make cheeses based on vegetable fats, which, if consumed frequently, can cause serious harm to health.

How to distinguish a cheese product from real cheese? Let's first look at what their fundamental difference is.

Cheese and cheese product … What's the difference?

Just in the ingredients included in the composition. A product called “CHEESE” may contain only milk, rennet or its artificial analogues, fermented milk starter, salt, calcium chloride to improve curdling. All this is easily absorbed and digested in the stomach, which is why cheese is invaluable for the human body.

The cheese product does not have such beneficial properties, since it only looks and tastes like cheese, but in reality it is something completely different. It contains no more than 20% real milk, and the rest is fat and protein of non-dairy origin. As a rule, manufacturers of such products use cheap coconut or palm oil in their production. It would seem that there is nothing wrong, because vegetable oils are good for health. Depends on what. So, in the case of palm, rapeseed and coconut oils containing saturated fats, they are even dangerous for the human body. These oils are converted into trans-isomer or transgenic fats and subsequently cause cardiovascular diseases, cholecystitis, obesity, atherosclerosis, vascular thrombosis, etc.

How to distinguish cheese from a cheese product

Firstly, you should carefully study the labeling (the product should not contain any vegetable fats, neither palm nor coconut, only milk fat).

Secondly, pay attention to the cost of the product (vegetable oils are very cheap, which allows the manufacturer to offer the end consumer an attractive price for cheese; the percentage of these oils can vary, from a small additive to an almost complete replacement of milk fat). In European countries, you can also find similar products in economy-class stores, but the percentage of vegetable fats in the composition is very small.

Third, in the case of packaged and wrapped cheese that does not have a label, it is impossible to find out the composition of the product; you can only rely on your own experience and intuition. Press the cheese with your fingers: if liquid flows out of the cheese, then most likely the product contains vegetable fats.

Fourth, the color of the cheese should be a natural shade and uniform. Cheese that is too yellow contains artificial colors.

Fifthly, pay attention to the size and shape of the cheese eyes. In natural cheese they are of regular shape with smooth edges, evenly distributed over the entire surface of the cheese. Large eyes in the middle of the cheese circle and small ones at the edges are a sure sign of a fake.

At sixth, the crust should be free of cracks and plaque, which indicate improper storage and low quality.

High-quality cheese is characterized by a uniform pattern, uniform structure, and even symmetrical holes. If you are a lover of Parmesan and other similar varieties, you should pay attention to the price and reputation of the manufacturer. In other cases, our test will help you.

Cheese quality test

Take a slice of purchased cheese at room temperature and carefully bend it at a right angle. The cheese should not crack at the bend! It would be right to refuse loose cheese, which easily crumbles and wrinkles. Most likely, what you see is palm oil mixed with milk powder and dyes.

Be vigilant and eat only healthy foods! Take care of the health of your loved ones, send them this useful information!

Now in all grocery stores and hypermarkets there is a huge abundance of any product and product. On the counters with cheeses, the assortment sometimes exceeds 100 types. Moreover, they all differ from each other in taste and constituent characteristics.

In this abundance, it is very difficult to choose high-quality and fresh cheese, instead of which you can accidentally buy a cheese product.

How to distinguish between cheese and a cheese product so as not to run into a fake? What is a cheese product?

Cheese and cheese product differ in the composition of ingredients. Real cheese can only contain milk, or its artificial analogues, fermented milk starter, and salt to improve curdling. All this is easily absorbed and digested in the stomach, which is why cheese is invaluable for the human body.

As a rule, manufacturers of such products use cheap coconut or palm oil in their production.

It would seem that there is nothing wrong, because vegetable oils are good for health. Depends on what. So, in the case of palm, rapeseed and coconut oils containing saturated fats, they are even dangerous for the human body. These oils are converted into trans-isomer or transgenic fats and subsequently cause cardiovascular diseases, cholecystitis, obesity, atherosclerosis, vascular thrombosis, etc.

How to distinguish cheese from a cheese product?

1. You should carefully study the labeling (the product should not contain any vegetable fats, neither palm nor coconut, only milk fat).

2. Pay attention to the cost of the product (vegetable oils are very cheap, which allows the manufacturer to offer the end consumer an attractive price for cheese; the percentage of these oils can vary, from a small additive to an almost complete replacement of milk fat).

In European countries, you can also find similar products in economy-class stores, but the percentage of vegetable fats in the composition is very small.

3. In the case of packaged and wrapped cheese that does not have a label, it is impossible to find out the composition of the product; you can only rely on your own experience and intuition. Press the cheese with your fingers: if liquid flows out of the cheese, then most likely the product contains vegetable fats.

4. should be a natural shade and uniform. Cheese that is too yellow contains artificial colors.

5. Pay attention to the size and shape of the cheese eyes. In natural cheese they are of regular shape with smooth edges, evenly distributed over the entire surface of the cheese. Large eyes in the middle of the cheese circle and small ones at the edges are a sure sign of a fake.

6. The cheese crust must be free of cracks and plaque, which indicate improper storage and low quality.

7. Pay attention to the composition of the cheese, which should be indicated on the product label. The law obliges all manufacturers to indicate the actual composition of the products they manufacture, but they do not always do this. The packaging of natural cheese should not contain such components as:
- soy;
- Palm oil;
- sunflower oil;
— preservatives;
- taste substitutes.