By Act of Congress of June 6, 1896, coloring matter is permitted to be used in cheese in the United States and doubtless it will continue to be used under this authority until that portion of the Act is repealed or until the consumer demands an uncolored article. The pure, natural color of the cheese is universally acknowledged to be best, most palatable, and most desirable.
Preservatives.
—Fortunately there is little to be said in regard to preservatives in cheese because they are almost unknown. The addition of a preservative to a cheese at the time of its production would so seriously interfere with the ripening process as to defeat the purpose of storage altogether. Hence in so far as preservatives are concerned there is little danger of adulteration.
Impure Raw Materials.
—If cheese be made of standard milk as provided for by the commissioners it must be made of pure, wholesome material. On the contrary, inasmuch as there is no official inspection of cheese factories, it is entirely possible through carelessness, ignorance, or design to use in the making of cheese milk which may itself be infected. Cheese made from such milk of course would carry the infection of the milk. This is a sort of adulteration which can only be excluded by careful sanitary inspection of cheese factories.
Filled Cheese.
—Formerly there was a very considerable adulteration of cheese by manufacturing it from skimmed milk and supplying from an artificial source the necessary fat. Cottonseed oil, lard, and other edible oils are used for this purpose.
Composition of Filled Cheese (Circular No. 11, Bureau of Animal Industry).
—Neutral lard is the principal fat which is substituted for milk fat in filled cheese. It is used to the extent of two or three pounds for every 100 pounds of skimmed milk. The principal objection to a filled cheese is not on account of its containing lard, which in itself is not unwholesome. But lard is an entirely different fat from milk fat, and differs in the character of the fermentation which takes place. The characteristic flavors and odors which are contributed by the milk fat in the cheese are entirely wanting, and the cheese is devoid of aroma and flavor and is nothing more than a mixture of casein with lard. Filled cheese is such a poor imitation of the genuine article that it can never have any very great vogue, and especially under the present law which requires it to be labeled and the payment of a tax. The law relating to [filled cheese] is found in the [appendix].
A filled cheese which is on the market not properly stamped and duty paid in harmony with this Act of Congress is adulterated, and they who make and sell it are amenable to the law. The annual report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the year ending June 30, 1905, shows that no receipts were obtained by the tax on filled cheese during that year. If any was made it was made surreptitiously and in defiance of the law.