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A proposed System of Cheese Classification
I !
A proposed ~y.ste1!' of Cheese ClassificatIon
In recent years, those concerned with the production and keting of cheese have become increasingly aware of the lack mar suitable method of categorizing the hundreds of cheese of .:ties available on national and international markets. Those ya~lved in legislative control of the cheese industry are in great 1I1~ of a simple, workable method of cheese classification which n~uld eliminate the necessity of providing lengthy detailed Wtandards for cheese varieties of minor commercial interest. s Likewise the consumer, being now better educated and more knowledgeable about the foods she buys, naturally wants to have a ~e~ter. !dea of ~he types of cheese available, along with their SimilarItIes an~ d~ferences. International orgamzatIons such as the I.D.F. through F.A.O. - W.H.O. have been considering the idea of cheese classification for some time, but it appears that conflict of interests among participating countries has so far impeded any real progress. Following a round-table discussion among the Dairy Technology Group of the C.LF.T. at its annual conference in June, 1969, it was decided to appoint a Study Committee to investigate possible methods of cheese classification. This committee consisted of six members, namely: Chairman: Mr. J. R. Sherk, C.D.A. Dairy Division, Ottawa. Secretary: Mr. M. R. Gilchrist, C.D.A. Dairy Division, Ottawa. Professor G. Belanger, Institut de Technologie Agricole, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec Dr. D. Irvine, Dept. of Food Science, University of Guelph, GueLph, Ontario. Dr. D. B. Emmons, C.D.A. Food, Research Institute, Ottawa. Mr. R. Sweeney, Kraft Foods Ltd., Montreal, Quebec. The committee was charged with the responsibility to "Develop a suitable simple system for nomenclature of cheese and t~, provide technical assistance in formulating standards of cheese. , The system of cheese classification presented here is the end result of the efforts of this committee. It was designed to provide meaningful information to the consumer, as well as to ensure a sound basis for the establishment and enforcement of legislation concerned with standards of composition. The accompanying figure shows the classification system in summary form. From this figure it can be seen that the scheme is based on fat content, firmness (moistme content). and mpthod of ripening. In the column headed "Firmness Characteristic", both percent moisture and percent moisture on a fat-free basis (M.F.F.B.) are indicated. This was done in order to conform
Table I FIRMNESS CHARACTERISTIC 1. HARD <60% M.F.F.B.
A High Fat Chf'ese >60% F.D.B.
Cheese Classification Chart
B Whole Milk Cheese 50-60% F.D.B.
C Part SHm Cheese 15-49.99% F.D.B.
D Skim Milk Cheese <15% F.D.B.
lAl lA2
IBI IB2
lCl lC2
lDl lD2
lA3
1B3 1B4
lC3 lC4
lD3 lD4
2Bl 2B2
2Cl 2C2
2Dl 2D2
2A4
2B3 2B4
2C3 2C4
2D3 2D4
3. SOFT >66% M.F.F.B.
3AI 3A2
3Bl 3B2
3CI 3C2
3Dl 3D2
>50% MOISTURE
3A3 3A4
3B3 3B4
3C3 3C4
3D3 3D4
<43% MOISTURE
1M 2. SEMI-SOFT 60-66% M.F.F.B. 43-50% MOISTURE
J.
to international methods of expressing moisture content. The committee agreed that M.F.F.B. provides a more accurate inclication of firmness, but felt that the use of this designation alone would create undue confusion among members of the industry. It is hoped, however, that in the future a gradual adO!]Jtion of the M.F.F.B. designation may be possible. The following are definitions of terms appearing under the column headed "Ripening Characteristic". Cured - cheese which is not ready for consumption immediately after manufacture, but which must be held at such temperature and for such time and under such other conditions as will bring about the necessary characteristic physical and chemical changes throughout the interior of the cheese. Surface - ripened - A cured cheese in which the curing has taken place progressively from the exterior to the interior due to microbiological growth developed on the surface of the cheese. Blue-Veined - A cured cheese in which ripening has been accomplished primarily due to the development of characteristic mold growth throughout the interior uf the cheese. Uncured - cheese which is ready for consumption immediately after manufacture and requires no further physical or chemical change. Other provisions of the classification system are as follows: - all unnatural ingredients such as spices or condiments shall be declared on the label. - texture, colour, and flavour descriptions will be allowed on the label as optional information. - cheese not made from cow's milk must be marked as to the animal(s) whose milk was used in its manufacture. Allowance has been made for the standardization of those varieties which are the most important to the Canadian market. This was done because it was felt that cheeses well known to Canadians would not have to be described in as mtlch detail as less important ones, and furthermore the well established vatieti;.,s should be afforded some protection via standardization. Th") following criteria were used to decide which varieties should be standardized: 1. Pounds imported into Canada in 1969. 2. Pounds manufactured in Canac1a in 1969. 3. Total pounds placed on the Canadian market in 1961l 4. Traditional rate of usage. The following is a list of those cheese variefes recommended by the committee for standardization, based on the above criteria: Part SHm Mozzarella Parmesan Mozzarella Camembert Brick Blue Cream Tilsit (Havarti)
2Al
2A2 2A3
Inst. Can. Techno!. Ailment. Vo!. 4, No 1, 1971
RIPENING CHARACTERISTIC CURED SURFACERIPENED BLUE-VEINED UNCURED CURED SURFACERIPENED BLUE-VEINED UNCURED CURED SURFACERIPENED BLUE-VEINED UNCURED
A7
Provolone Gouda Montasio Emmental (Swiss, Gruyere) Limburger Colby Cheddar Romano Edam The labelling requirements for standardized versus unstandardized varieties will differ according to the following rules: - the names of all standardized varieties will be followed immediately by the word "cheese", e.g., "Cheddar Cheese". The names of all unstandardized varieties will be followed by a short formal description of the variety, and then the word "cheese", e.g., "Mycelia, a Semi-soft, Whole-Milk, Blue-veined Cheese". - unstandardized cheese varieties included in the "PartSkim" group must be labelled with a statement of per cent fat on a dry basis, to the next lowest 5%. For example, if the % F.D.B. were 47, the label would read "45% F.D.B.". all standardized cheese varieties, and those unstandardized varieties not included in the Part-Skim group may bear a description and % F.D.B. on the label, but this is optional. - a standardized cheese variety may have included in its standard, alternate names for use with that variety, e.g., Swiss Cheese (alternate names Emmental Cheese, Gruyere Cheese). - Pasta Filata types of cheese will be considered Whole Milk cheeses, even though they contain less than 50% F.D.B., because of unavoidable fat loss during manufacture. The raw material used in their manufacture is, nonetheless, whole milk. Conclusions: It is hoped that this system of cheese classificaiton will fulfill the requirements for which it was developed. Although no single scheme could be expected to be perfect, it is believed that the present one has great merit, and will prove to be of considerable value both to the cheese industry and to the consumer.
Second Wodd Food Congress Recently a joint meeting was held at the AIC luncheon ~ the results of the Second World Food Congress held' August 1970 at the Magul. Participants are from left to righ Mr. Tom Willis, Agricultural Institute of Canada, Miss Ru Moyle, Canada Department of Agriculture, Dr. Norman Tape C.I.F.T., Dr. H. L. Trueman, Canadian Hunger Foundatiollj Mrs. A. C. McCalla, Canadian Home Economics Association; Dr. Guy Consineau, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. ' di~cuss
Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress III, (A.M.A. Coun~ cil on Foods and Nutrition, American Institute of Nutrition), Bal Harbour, Florida, August 30 - September 2, 1971. Informationl Council on Foods and Nutrition, American Medical Association; 535 North Dearborn Street, Chigaco, Illinois 60610.
C.I.F.T. ANNUAL CONFERENCE WINNIPEG 1971 The 14th Annual Conference of the Canadian Institute of Food Technology will be held at the Winnipeg Inn, Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 15 to 18, 1971. The 'Winnipeg Inn is a fine new hotel located at Portage and Main, right in the heart of the city, within easy access to Winnipeg's new Centennial Cultural Center, theaters and other entrtainment. The technical program will include both symposium-type meetings and concurrent technical sessions, in which current research in various areas of food science and technology will be presented. Included among the subjects to be discussed is "Food and the Environment." An attractive social program, including a ladies program, is being developed. More details will be given in the next issue. Plan now to attend the 14th Annual Conference. Conference Chairman is Lyle R. Johnson. Program Chairman is Grant McLeod.
A8
Can. lnst. Food Techno!. J. Vo!. 4, No. I, 1971
A proposed ~y.ste1!' of Cheese ClassificatIon
In recent years, those concerned with the production and keting of cheese have become increasingly aware of the lack mar suitable method of categorizing the hundreds of cheese of .:ties available on national and international markets. Those ya~lved in legislative control of the cheese industry are in great 1I1~ of a simple, workable method of cheese classification which n~uld eliminate the necessity of providing lengthy detailed Wtandards for cheese varieties of minor commercial interest. s Likewise the consumer, being now better educated and more knowledgeable about the foods she buys, naturally wants to have a ~e~ter. !dea of ~he types of cheese available, along with their SimilarItIes an~ d~ferences. International orgamzatIons such as the I.D.F. through F.A.O. - W.H.O. have been considering the idea of cheese classification for some time, but it appears that conflict of interests among participating countries has so far impeded any real progress. Following a round-table discussion among the Dairy Technology Group of the C.LF.T. at its annual conference in June, 1969, it was decided to appoint a Study Committee to investigate possible methods of cheese classification. This committee consisted of six members, namely: Chairman: Mr. J. R. Sherk, C.D.A. Dairy Division, Ottawa. Secretary: Mr. M. R. Gilchrist, C.D.A. Dairy Division, Ottawa. Professor G. Belanger, Institut de Technologie Agricole, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec Dr. D. Irvine, Dept. of Food Science, University of Guelph, GueLph, Ontario. Dr. D. B. Emmons, C.D.A. Food, Research Institute, Ottawa. Mr. R. Sweeney, Kraft Foods Ltd., Montreal, Quebec. The committee was charged with the responsibility to "Develop a suitable simple system for nomenclature of cheese and t~, provide technical assistance in formulating standards of cheese. , The system of cheese classification presented here is the end result of the efforts of this committee. It was designed to provide meaningful information to the consumer, as well as to ensure a sound basis for the establishment and enforcement of legislation concerned with standards of composition. The accompanying figure shows the classification system in summary form. From this figure it can be seen that the scheme is based on fat content, firmness (moistme content). and mpthod of ripening. In the column headed "Firmness Characteristic", both percent moisture and percent moisture on a fat-free basis (M.F.F.B.) are indicated. This was done in order to conform
Table I FIRMNESS CHARACTERISTIC 1. HARD <60% M.F.F.B.
A High Fat Chf'ese >60% F.D.B.
Cheese Classification Chart
B Whole Milk Cheese 50-60% F.D.B.
C Part SHm Cheese 15-49.99% F.D.B.
D Skim Milk Cheese <15% F.D.B.
lAl lA2
IBI IB2
lCl lC2
lDl lD2
lA3
1B3 1B4
lC3 lC4
lD3 lD4
2Bl 2B2
2Cl 2C2
2Dl 2D2
2A4
2B3 2B4
2C3 2C4
2D3 2D4
3. SOFT >66% M.F.F.B.
3AI 3A2
3Bl 3B2
3CI 3C2
3Dl 3D2
>50% MOISTURE
3A3 3A4
3B3 3B4
3C3 3C4
3D3 3D4
<43% MOISTURE
1M 2. SEMI-SOFT 60-66% M.F.F.B. 43-50% MOISTURE
J.
to international methods of expressing moisture content. The committee agreed that M.F.F.B. provides a more accurate inclication of firmness, but felt that the use of this designation alone would create undue confusion among members of the industry. It is hoped, however, that in the future a gradual adO!]Jtion of the M.F.F.B. designation may be possible. The following are definitions of terms appearing under the column headed "Ripening Characteristic". Cured - cheese which is not ready for consumption immediately after manufacture, but which must be held at such temperature and for such time and under such other conditions as will bring about the necessary characteristic physical and chemical changes throughout the interior of the cheese. Surface - ripened - A cured cheese in which the curing has taken place progressively from the exterior to the interior due to microbiological growth developed on the surface of the cheese. Blue-Veined - A cured cheese in which ripening has been accomplished primarily due to the development of characteristic mold growth throughout the interior uf the cheese. Uncured - cheese which is ready for consumption immediately after manufacture and requires no further physical or chemical change. Other provisions of the classification system are as follows: - all unnatural ingredients such as spices or condiments shall be declared on the label. - texture, colour, and flavour descriptions will be allowed on the label as optional information. - cheese not made from cow's milk must be marked as to the animal(s) whose milk was used in its manufacture. Allowance has been made for the standardization of those varieties which are the most important to the Canadian market. This was done because it was felt that cheeses well known to Canadians would not have to be described in as mtlch detail as less important ones, and furthermore the well established vatieti;.,s should be afforded some protection via standardization. Th") following criteria were used to decide which varieties should be standardized: 1. Pounds imported into Canada in 1969. 2. Pounds manufactured in Canac1a in 1969. 3. Total pounds placed on the Canadian market in 1961l 4. Traditional rate of usage. The following is a list of those cheese variefes recommended by the committee for standardization, based on the above criteria: Part SHm Mozzarella Parmesan Mozzarella Camembert Brick Blue Cream Tilsit (Havarti)
2Al
2A2 2A3
Inst. Can. Techno!. Ailment. Vo!. 4, No 1, 1971
RIPENING CHARACTERISTIC CURED SURFACERIPENED BLUE-VEINED UNCURED CURED SURFACERIPENED BLUE-VEINED UNCURED CURED SURFACERIPENED BLUE-VEINED UNCURED
A7
Provolone Gouda Montasio Emmental (Swiss, Gruyere) Limburger Colby Cheddar Romano Edam The labelling requirements for standardized versus unstandardized varieties will differ according to the following rules: - the names of all standardized varieties will be followed immediately by the word "cheese", e.g., "Cheddar Cheese". The names of all unstandardized varieties will be followed by a short formal description of the variety, and then the word "cheese", e.g., "Mycelia, a Semi-soft, Whole-Milk, Blue-veined Cheese". - unstandardized cheese varieties included in the "PartSkim" group must be labelled with a statement of per cent fat on a dry basis, to the next lowest 5%. For example, if the % F.D.B. were 47, the label would read "45% F.D.B.". all standardized cheese varieties, and those unstandardized varieties not included in the Part-Skim group may bear a description and % F.D.B. on the label, but this is optional. - a standardized cheese variety may have included in its standard, alternate names for use with that variety, e.g., Swiss Cheese (alternate names Emmental Cheese, Gruyere Cheese). - Pasta Filata types of cheese will be considered Whole Milk cheeses, even though they contain less than 50% F.D.B., because of unavoidable fat loss during manufacture. The raw material used in their manufacture is, nonetheless, whole milk. Conclusions: It is hoped that this system of cheese classificaiton will fulfill the requirements for which it was developed. Although no single scheme could be expected to be perfect, it is believed that the present one has great merit, and will prove to be of considerable value both to the cheese industry and to the consumer.
Second Wodd Food Congress Recently a joint meeting was held at the AIC luncheon ~ the results of the Second World Food Congress held' August 1970 at the Magul. Participants are from left to righ Mr. Tom Willis, Agricultural Institute of Canada, Miss Ru Moyle, Canada Department of Agriculture, Dr. Norman Tape C.I.F.T., Dr. H. L. Trueman, Canadian Hunger Foundatiollj Mrs. A. C. McCalla, Canadian Home Economics Association; Dr. Guy Consineau, Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. ' di~cuss
Western Hemisphere Nutrition Congress III, (A.M.A. Coun~ cil on Foods and Nutrition, American Institute of Nutrition), Bal Harbour, Florida, August 30 - September 2, 1971. Informationl Council on Foods and Nutrition, American Medical Association; 535 North Dearborn Street, Chigaco, Illinois 60610.
C.I.F.T. ANNUAL CONFERENCE WINNIPEG 1971 The 14th Annual Conference of the Canadian Institute of Food Technology will be held at the Winnipeg Inn, Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 15 to 18, 1971. The 'Winnipeg Inn is a fine new hotel located at Portage and Main, right in the heart of the city, within easy access to Winnipeg's new Centennial Cultural Center, theaters and other entrtainment. The technical program will include both symposium-type meetings and concurrent technical sessions, in which current research in various areas of food science and technology will be presented. Included among the subjects to be discussed is "Food and the Environment." An attractive social program, including a ladies program, is being developed. More details will be given in the next issue. Plan now to attend the 14th Annual Conference. Conference Chairman is Lyle R. Johnson. Program Chairman is Grant McLeod.
A8
Can. lnst. Food Techno!. J. Vo!. 4, No. I, 1971