American cheese, for example, is a processed cheese. This means that several different types of cheese are blended together with flavorings and emulsifiers to create a cheese with a more consistent texture. These cheeses are not considered of the highest quality, and lack the character that the natural processing gives to real cheese. Imitation cheese has little to no cheese and consists mainly of dairy by products, emulsifiers, colorings and artificial flavors. Imitation cheese is less expensive than natural cheese but contains few of the vitamins found in real cheese.
Imitation cheese is also much higher in sodium.
Although natural processing is the norm for modern day dairy production, cheese makers do not let nature take its course as it did with the ancient Arab nomad. Cheese production is a near science and if the wrong bacteria are allowed to flourish, the cheese can do more harm than good. Today, particularly in the United States, only pasteurized milk is used in cheese production to ensure a significant reduction in contamination. Today nearly four hundred varieties exist, hailing from all over the world. Their flavors depend heavily on the process, ingredients used, natural bacteria, and the age of the cheese.