Look at the ingredient list on your bag of shredded cheese. See "cellulose" listed there? That's wood pulp. Literally. They're putting processed tree fibers in your cheese, and it's completely legal.
Cellulose is a plant fiber found in all vegetation, but the food industry extracts it from wood pulp because it's the cheapest source. They grind up wood, cook it with chemicals to break it down, purify it, and turn it into a fine white powder that gets added to your food.
The FDA has allowed cellulose as a food additive since 1973, and technically they limit it to 2-4% in shredded cheese. But here's the thing: independent laboratory testing has found that some brands contain way more than that. A Walmart brand tested at 7.8% cellulose. A Jewel-Osco brand came in at 8.8%.
Think about that for a second. Almost 9% of what you thought was cheese is actually processed wood. You're paying cheese prices for tree filler. And many of these products are labeled "100% Grated Parmesan Cheese" when they're clearly not 100% cheese.
Why do they do this? Officially, cellulose is an "anti-caking agent" that keeps shredded cheese from clumping together. It absorbs moisture and creates a coating around each cheese shred so they stay separate in the bag. That's the story food companies tell.
But cellulose also serves another purpose: it's a cheap filler that lets companies use less actual cheese while keeping the package the same size. Wood pulp costs almost nothing compared to real Parmesan, which takes months to age and loses moisture during curing, making it expensive to produce.
The FDA investigated Castle Cheese Inc. for years before finally discovering that their "100% Parmesan" was actually a mixture of cheaper cheeses with high amounts of cellulose. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2014, but the practice continues across the industry.
Kraft Heinz and several major retailers have faced class-action lawsuits over this issue. More than 50 lawsuits have been filed against Parmesan producers for false advertising. Not because cellulose is dangerous - it's technically safe to eat - but because selling "100% cheese" that contains up to 9% wood pulp is consumer fraud.
And it's not just cheese. Cellulose shows up in ice cream (to make it creamier without using dairy), bread (to add fiber), fast food burgers, breakfast cereals, salad dressings, and even coffee creamer. McDonald's uses it. So do most major food manufacturers.
Food companies defend cellulose by pointing out that it's plant fiber - the same fiber you'd get from eating vegetables. That's technically true, but there's a big difference between eating a carrot and eating processed wood powder that's been chemically treated to isolate the cellulose.
Your body can't digest cellulose, so it just passes right through. It won't hurt you, but it also provides zero nutritional value. When companies add cellulose to boost "fiber content" on nutrition labels, they're padding the numbers with wood pulp instead of actual nutritious fiber from whole grains or vegetables.
Want to avoid wood pulp in your cheese? Buy blocks of cheese and shred them yourself. It takes 30 seconds with a box grater, and you'll get 100% actual cheese with no fillers, no anti-caking agents, and cheese that actually melts properly when you cook with it.