Commodity
Location(s):
Hilbert, WI, 55-271
Kiel, WI, 55-337
Plymouth, WI, 55-491
Process Verified Point(s):
Natural Cheese - Natural Cheese is defined as: Cheeses that are ripened/un-ripened, soft, semi-soft, or hard products, that is produced by:
- coagulating wholly or partly the protein of milk, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, cream, whey cream, or buttermilk (or any combination of such ingredients) through the action of lactic-acid-producing bacteria, rennet or other suitable coagulating agents, and by partially draining the resulting whey, while respecting the principle that cheese-making results in a concentration of milk protein (in particular, the casein portion), and that consequently, the protein content of the cheese will be distinctly higher than the protein level of the blend of the above milk materials from which the cheese was made; or
- processing techniques involving coagulation of the milk protein obtained from milk to produce an end-product with similar physical, chemical, and organoleptic characteristics as the product described above.
Cheeses are not made by techniques typically utilized for making process cheeses namely by grinding and mixing natural cheese(s) and heating the mix with the addition of emulsifiers and acidifiers to create a pliable, homogenous melted cheese product and is not cold pack cheese.
For more information on the USDA Process Verified Program and additional information on this specific program, visit the Livestock & Poultry Program’s Quality Assessment Division website.