Just Cheesy: The Podcast! 183 Faking it

Cheesy and Fondue find out about counterfeit cheese. We talk about fake paneer, fake Swiss and how microchips are being used to protect Parmesan. We discuss formaldehyde, drywall and fake rice. And of course, we tell a very cheesy joke!

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Why is cheddar the most dangerous of all the cheeses? Because it is very sharp!

 Show Notes 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/india-to-force-restaurants-to-disclose-if-they-use-analogue-paneer-in-fake-cheese-crackdown/ar-AA1DU5sj

https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2018/10/formaldehyde-in-milk-lead-in-cheese-true-history-behind-us-food-system/

https://gypsum.org/other-uses-of-gypsum/#:~:text=Gypsum%20(calcium%20sulfate)%20is%20recognized,white%20bread%2C%20ice%20cream%2C%20blue

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-26/swiss-combat-counterfeit-cheese-with-dna-fingerprinting

https://displayfakefoods.com/fake-cheese/?srsltid=AfmBOooXyCZGyy2vjt87ezwU1oUiEDuoS2wgxXDgXmj_FwHbvswKcu5p

https://www.cheese.com/blog/how-spot-fake-cheese/

https://www.italiaregina.it/the-danger-of-counterfeit-cheeses/

https://www.cheeseprofessor.com/blog/5-famously-fake-cheeses

https://edible-history.com/tag/food-adulteration-2/?utm

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/54004/54004-h/54004-h.htm

https://interestingengineering.com/culture/microchipped-parmesan-combats-counterfeit-cheese

https://ominthenews.com/edible-microchips-to-aid-cheese-traceability/#:~:text=The%20chips

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Just Cheesy, the podcastpresented by Just Cheesy Productions.
Hi, there. I'm your host, Fondue.
This is Cheesy.
In this week's episode, we'retalking all about fake cheese. And
we're not talking vegan. We'regoing to talk about fake paneer,

(00:24):
fake Swiss, and how microchipsare being used to protect Parmesan.
We're going to be talkingabout formaldehyde, Rywall, and even
fake rice. And of course, noepisode would be complete without
our very cheesy jokes. Staytuned for episode 183, baking it
on Just Cheesy the podcast. Wegot the idea for this episode because

(00:53):
there was an article aboutpaneer cheese. This cheese is made
in India. It's made fromcurdling milk with an acid like vinegar,
lime juice, or citric acid.It's usually strained in cheesecloth
to drain the liquid out, andthen it's pressed to give a firm
texture. But according tomsn.com the Indian government is
going to issue guidelines thatwould require restaurants to actually

(01:15):
tell if they use cheese or noton their menus.
Wow.
Because apparently they'remaking a version of it with just
oil and starch. And they saywhile it mimics the real paneer in
appearance and texture, itlacks essential nutrients and it
actually may contain harmful additives.
Oh, no.
And of course, because it'sfake, it's cheaper. And that's why
a lot of hotels andrestaurants don't reveal it to customers.

(01:38):
There were some inspectionsacross multiple cities in India,
and they said it's actuallyrevealed some wider issues, that
some of these types of paneerhave been supplied to restaurants.
And they said 83% of thepaneer samples were found to fail
quality test and 40% werelabeled unsafe for human consumption.
And because of these healthconcerns, the government is going

(01:58):
to intervene.
Good.
This isn't the only time inhistory where there have been some
interesting ingredients in ourfood. According to wtop.com back
in the 1800s, some things wereblended with some, I'm going to say,
interesting stuff.
Okay.
They say that sometimes coffeewas mixed with sawdust and beets,
charred black to resemble coffee.

(02:20):
Oh, no.
Butter was sometimes blendedwith borax to extend the shelf life.
Oh, my milk. Well, that wassometimes cut down with water. It
was occasionally topped withpureed calf brains.
Or.
Or it was also preserved withformaldehyde and cheese. Well, if
it wasn't the right color andit couldn't pass a quality test,

(02:42):
companies would sometimescolor it with red lead. And according
to edible-history.com. therewere so many others. Old oranges
were boiled to freshen themup. Coconuts were drilled, filled
with water, and resealed withwax. But you're saying to yourself,
well, that was the 1800s, soit can't be that bad. According to
the BBC.com, there is somefake rice. Back in 2016, Nigeria

(03:08):
confiscated 2.5 tons ofplastic rice.
What?
They said whoever made thefake rice did an exceptionally good
job. They said on firstimpression it could fool someone.
They ran the grains throughtheir fingers and felt nothing out
of the ordinary.
Oh, no.
They said it had a slightchemical odor. And when customs cooked
the rice, they said it was toosticky. And it was abundantly clear

(03:30):
that this was no ordinarybatch. And fortunately, this stuff
was not sold to customers. AndI don't know if this next one is
necessarily bad, but accordingto gypsum.org gypsum, which is calcium
sulfate, is considered a foodadditive. It's recognized as acceptable
for human consumption by theU.S. food and Drug Administration.

(03:50):
Okay.
For a dietary source ofcalcium. It's used to condition water
in brewing beer, controllingthe tartness and clarity of wine,
and an ingredient in cannedvegetables, flour, white bread, ice
cream, blue cheese, and other foods.
Oh, no.
Gypsum is not a sponsor.
Nope.

(04:59):
But if it was, the ad would goright here. Now, sometimes there
are plastic fake cheeses thatare used for displays. Oh, yeah,
you can go ondisplayfakefoods.com and there's
tons in here.
Oh, wow.
They've got fake cheddar,they've got fake string cheese, they've
got fake blue cheese. You nameit, it's on here. And apparently
they say it's not edible. Andit's not a toy. It's not recommended

(05:22):
for kids under 12. It's meantto be part of a nutritional education
series that shows anappropriate portion size. In teaching
nutritional instruct. Did youknow that the Swiss have been battling
fake cheese for quite sometime? According to escoffieronline.com
there are forgeries that go tothe supermarkets all the time. The

(05:43):
Swiss are known for theircheese, and their exports are basically
a half a billion dollars every year.
Holy cow.
And while a lot of theforgeries are actually cheese, they're
made at a lower cost. But thecounterfeiters a lot of times ignore
regulations that ensure theproducts are of high quality. So
the Swiss are fighting back.They're actually using DNA fingerprinting

(06:05):
to safeguard their nationaltreasure. They are relying on a database
of over 10,000 milk bacteriato keep track of their Real Swiss
cheeses. They say that the DNAmarker makes it nearly impossible
for counterfeiters to recreatethe cheese.
They do.
And this is actuallyencouraging many to stop trying to
pass off their own inauthenticcheeses. Cheese.com tells us how

(06:28):
to spot fake cheese.
Okay.
Camembert is a French cheese,and it has a lot of copycats. The
real deal will have some brownspots. A bright white rind indicates
industrial variety. The thick,creamy center of the cheese will
become more squeezable thelonger it stays on the cheese platter.
But to know for sure, you needto look for the PDO seal on the package.

(06:50):
PDO means protecteddesignation of origin. This designation
should be a guarantee ofquality and authenticity for products
produced in a specificgeographical area. And they follow
strict production rules andmethods. According to Italia regina.it
the most counterfeited cheesesare Parmigiano, Reggiano, and Grana

(07:12):
Padana.
Whoa.
They say the rind, which mustbe clean and must have the serial
number of the producer and theinitials of the province where the
cheese was made.
Okay.
They say for grated Parmesan,the DOP mark of Consorzio de Tutella
must be present. And we'vetalked about this before, but According
to InterestingEngineering.Parmesan is trying to combat the

(07:36):
counterfeit market with microchips.
What?
Since 1996, this cheese hasbeen protected. It has to be crafted
in a specific northern Italianregion. The wheels must undergo maturation
for at least a year in amountain climate. The cheese makers
labeled all the cheese wheelswith a case and plate containing

(07:56):
a unique alphanumeric code,almost like a serial number. And
this code formed a distinctdot pattern encircling the wheel
of cheese. It included theproduction production month and year.
Okay.
This was not enough to stopthe counterfeiters.
Oh, no.
Chips the size of a grain ofsand have been placed on more than
100,000 Parmigiano wheels ofcheese for long term testing.

(08:17):
Wow.
This is to see if they willwithstand the cheese's aging requirements
of over a year. According toominthenews.com, these pea chips,
as they're called, work in awide range of temperatures, both
hot and cold. We already saidthey're small as a grain of sand.
Yeah.
They said they're easily andinconspicuously inserted by a robot

(08:38):
into the casein label that isput on the top of a cheese wheel.
Wow.
Of course. They say safety andethics are a concern because of the
tracking mechanisms thatsomeone might possibly eat the casein
label and thereby ingest thechip. Oh, no, they're not meant to
be eaten. But testing hasdemonstrated the safety of the chips
for human consumption. And ofcourse, they say tracking someone

(09:00):
who has eaten a chip can beput to rest because the chips cannot
be read remotely and theycan't be read once they have been
eaten. I'm pretty sure theonly thing the chip would say to
anybody is that I eat a lot of cheese.
I'm ready for a joke Fondue.
Okay. Why did real cheesebreak up with fake cheese?
I don't know.
It couldn't Camembert the liesanymore. Oh, get it? Camembert.

(09:24):
I got it.
Like, bear the lie.
It was dumb.
You may not like that one, butI thought it was a little bit cheesy.
Thanks for listening toepisode 183, Faking It.
Thank you.
As always. We'd love it if youwould, like, subscribe and make sure
to download our episodes every week.

(09:45):
And staycheesystaycheesy,everybody.