California Code of Regulations › Title 3 - Food and Agriculture › Division 2 - Animal Industry › Chapter 1 - Dairies › Article 4 - Special Varieties of Cheese › Section 415.1 - Grated Cheese and Shredded Cheese; Composition and Labeling

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(Section
					 37402,
					 Food and Agricultural Code.)
(a)
(1) This section shall apply only to grated
				  and shredded varieties of hard cheese specifically described and enumerated in
				  the California Administrative Code. These are the following: Romano, Parmesan,
				  Reggiano, Asiago Old and Hard Grating Cheese.
(2) The grated or shredded cheeses for which
				  definitions and standards of identity are prescribed by this section are foods
				  prepared by grating, grinding, shredding or otherwise comminuting and mixing
				  one or more cheeses of the same variety or cheeses of two or more
				  varieties.
(3) No ingredient other
				  than the cheeses specifically mentioned and enumerated in this section shall be
				  permitted in grated cheese or shredded cheese except:
(A) A mold-inhibiting ingredient consisting
				  of sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium sorbate, or any combination of two or
				  more of these in a total amount not to exceed 0.3 percent by weight of the
				  finished product.
(B) An anticaking
				  agent consisting of silicon dioxide, calcium silicate, sodium silicoaluminate,
				  or any combination of two or more of these in a total amount not to exceed 2
				  percent by weight of the finished product.
(C) The label shall bear the statement
1. "__________ added to retard mold growth"
				  or "__________ added as a preservative" if a mold inhibitor is used,
				  and
2. "__________ added as an
				  anticaking agent" if an anticaking agent is used, (the blank(s) to be filled in
				  with the name of the substance(s) used.)
(4) Any cheese used as a component of grated
				  cheese or shredded cheese shall be made from pasteurized milk or be held at a
				  temperature of not less than 35 degrees Fahrenheit for not less than 60 days
				  before it is used in preparing grated cheese and shredded cheese.
(5) In the manufacture of grated cheese or
				  shredded cheese, moisture may be removed from the cheese ingredients, but no
				  moisture may be added.
(6) If the
				  final product is made from only one variety of cheese, the minimum milk fat
				  shall not be less than that specified in the California Administrative Code for
				  that variety of cheese. If the final product is made from two or more varieties
				  of cheese, the minimum milk fat of the finished product shall not be less than
				  the arithmetic average of the minimum milk fat of those types of
				  cheese.
(7)
(A) In the case of grated cheese or shredded
				  cheese made from two varieties of cheese, the weight of a single variety shall
				  not be less than 25 percent of the total weight of both.
(B) In the case of a grated or shredded
				  cheese made from three or more varieties of cheese, the weight of each of any
				  two varieties used therein shall not be less than one-third of the total weight
				  of all cheese, and if Romano or Parmesan cheese is included, or both Romano and
				  Parmesan are included therein, the weight of each of said varieties of Romano
				  or Parmesan shall not be less than 25 percent of the total weight of all
				  cheese.