If you're putting Parmesan cheese on your spaghetti and meatballs, you're eating a certain amount of wood pulp.

That's what the Food and Drug Administration announced recently, issuing a statement warning consumers to be wary of cellulose in grated cheese.Cellulose is considered wood pulp because manufacturers grind up wood to extract cellulose from it.The FDA allows companies to add cellulose to foods such as shredded cheese because it prevents clumping and is thought to be a harmless, organic matter. The FDA says up to 4 percent of grated cheese can be cellulose.If you're buying a nonrefrigerated grated cheese in one of the popular green plastic containers, you can be sure you're eating a certain amount of wood pulp.But the FDA also discovered something even more alarming.One Pennsylvania manufacturer - Castle Cheese, located near Slippery Rock - was allegedly producing Parmesan cheese that didn't contain any Parmesan at all.The food producer was doctoring its 100 percent real Parmesan with cut-rate substitutes and wood pulp filler and distributing it to some of the country's biggest grocery chains.The fake Parmesan was made up of other trimmings of various cheeses and distributed to grocery stores.The president of company, Michelle Myrter, was charged in federal court for lying about the cheese's quality.The company filed for bankruptcy.It's good news the FDA has uncovered the widespread use of wood pulp in grated cheese, and has blown the whistle.Still, it's alarming that fraud happens in production of a food item as basic as cheese.In the meantime, if you're concerned about feeding your family only pure, 100 percent Parmesan cheese, you need to be a savvy shopper.You'll need to purchase a wedge labeled "Parmigiano-Reggiano" and grate it yourself.The Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium is a trade group based in Rome and upholds high standards among its cheese manufacturers.Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, made in Italy, is the real thing. It might be possible to find a similar, pure American-made wedge without additives.But cheeses made in the U.S. and labeled simply as "Parmesan" might contain cellulose.In other words, government regulations in Italy apparently guarantee a better Parmesan product than what the FDA can give us here in this country.The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.And certainly the agency deserves credit for blowing the lid off the "cheesegate scandal."But it'd be even better if the FDA were proactive and able to set standards to prevent cheese manufacturers from fooling us to begin with.By Donald R. Serfass |

dserfass@tnonline.com