"vegetarian" cheese

[qualia]

so, i don't know the ins and outs of food labelling laws in oz, but i was looking at cheese the other day and saw a pack clearly stating "VEGETARIAN EDAM", clear as day larger than the brand logo itself. so flipping the pack i see ingredients listed as Enzyme(Rennet). now i guess theres no labelling law to specify a product can label themselves in such a way but seriously is this not blatant mislabelling?

[Kee]

Mainland Edam Vegetarian cheese uses non-animal sourced coagulants, not calf rennet. There are quite a few non-animal rennet cheeses in Australia, not all of them are labeled "vegetarian", but most hard cheeses have calf rennet it seems.

[El Presidente Hillbillios]

i think it could be non animal rennet, its some kind of synthetic thing not animal derived

[CβL]

Well, depends on what they mean by "rennet". Some plant products are also called rennet, so it could be a low quality plant source of rennet (hence the reason they left the details out) - or they could just be lying assholes.

[qualia]

well, all the other cheeses i saw specifically said non-animal derived enzyme, there was more than one which said this. how hard is it to state the coagulant comes from not the guts of calves?

[coin]

yeah, it's microbially derived rennet

a lot of manufacturers are using it now because there's a decent number of vegetarians

[ThunderIdeal]

well, all the other cheeses i saw specifically said non-animal derived enzyme, there was more than one which said this. how hard is it to state the coagulant comes from not the guts of calves?

 

because they already said so when they called it vegetarian cheese. i don't think labelling laws are lax enough to let that one slide!!! maybe some less obvious ingredients could slip through in a 'vegetarian' product, although i have my doubts.

[tripsis]

Most non-animal rennets are derived from GM bacteria.

[qualia]

gm bacteria you say. how so? any sources?

[qualia]

because they already said so when they called it vegetarian cheese. i don't think labelling laws are lax enough to let that one slide!!! maybe some less obvious ingredients could slip through in a 'vegetarian' product, although i have my doubts.

really? you just have to look at egg labelling laws to realise how lax food labelling law in shitstralia really is.....

[Auxin]

Since when is dairy a vegetable anyway?

I remember when the borderline omnis used titles like 'ovo-lacto' 'piscio' vegetarian, when did the law start allowing dairy to be labeled vegetarian?

I've read that in many regions western 'vegetarians' consume 2/3 as much animal products (as measured by animal protein consumption) as regular omnis, its no wonder that epidemiological data relating to vegetarian diets can be so contradictory or inconclusive.

Edited September 16, 2011 by Auxin

[tripsis]

gm bacteria you say. how so? any sources?

Read me.

[vual]

May shed some light on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

The GM rennet is most interesting.

Because of the limited availability of proper stomachs for rennet production, cheese makers have looked for other ways to coagulate the milk since at least Roman times. There are many sources of enzymes, ranging from plants, fungi, and microbial sources, that can substitute for animal rennet. Cheeses produced from any of these varieties of rennet are suitable for lacto-vegetarians to consume. GMO-Microbial rennet (see below) is used more often in industrial cheesemaking in North America today because it is less expensive than animal rennet, whereas cheese from Europe is more likely to be made from animal rennet due to tradition.[citation needed]

As the proper coagulation is done by enzymatic activity, the task was to find enzymes for cleaving the casein that would result in a taste and texture similar to those yielded by animal-based rennet.

Vegetable rennet

Many plants have coagulating properties. Homer suggests in the Iliad that the Greeks used an extract of fig juice to coagulate milk.[1] Other examples include dried caper leaves[2], nettles, thistles, mallow, and Ground Ivy (Creeping Charlie). Enzymes from thistle or cynara are used in some traditional cheese production in the Mediterranean. Phytic acid, derived from unfermented soybeans, or genetically modified (GM) soy rennet may also be used.

These real vegetable rennets are also suitable for vegetarians. Vegetable rennet might be used in the production of kosher and halal cheeses but nearly all kosher cheeses are produced with either microbial rennet or genetically modified rennet. Worldwide, there is no industrial production for vegetable rennet. Commercial so-called vegetable rennets usually contain rennet from the mold Mucor miehei - see microbial rennet below.

Microbial rennet

Some molds such as Rhizomucor miehei are able to produce proteolytic enzymes. These molds are produced in a fermenter and then specially concentrated and purified to avoid contamination with unpleasant byproducts of the mold growth. At the present state of scientific research, governmental food safety organizations such as the European Food Safety Authority deny QPS (Qualified Presumption of Safety) status to enzymes produced especially by these molds.

The flavor and taste of cheeses produced with microbial rennets tend towards some bitterness, especially after longer maturation periods.[3] These so-called "microbial rennets" are suitable for vegetarians, provided no animal-based alimentation was used during the production.

Genetically engineered rennet

Because of the above imperfections of microbial rennets, some producers sought further replacements of natural rennet. With the development of genetic engineering, it became possible to insert cow genes into certain bacteria, fungi or yeasts to make them produce chymosin. Chymosin produced by genetically modified organisms was the first artificially produced enzyme to be registered and allowed by the US Food and Drug Administration. In 1999, about 60% of US hard cheese was made with genetically engineered chymosin[4] and it has up to 80% of the global market share for rennet.[5] By 2008, approximately 80% to 90% of commercially made cheeses in the US and Britain were made using GM-based rennet.[6] One example of a commercially available genetically engineered rennet is Chymax, created by Pfizer. Today, the most widely used genetically engineered rennet is produced by the fungus Aspergillus niger.[citation needed]

Cheese production with genetically engineered rennet is similar to production with natural calf rennet. GMO-produced rennet contains only one of the known main chymosin types, either type A or type B. Other chymosin types found in natural rennet do not exist in GMO-produced rennet.[citation needed]

Often, a mixture of genetically engineered chymosin and natural pepsin is used to imitate the complexity of natural rennet and to get the same results in coagulation and in development of flavour and taste.[citation needed]

The so-called "GM rennets" are suitable for vegetarians if there was no animal-based alimentation used during the production in the fermenter. However, genetically engineered rennet is often produced from soy or phytic acid, which is unsuitable for people who have soy-based allergies.[citation needed]

Acid coagulation

Milk can also be coagulated by adding an acid, such as citric acid.

Cream cheese, paneer, and rubing are traditionally made this way (see Category:Acid-set cheeses for others), and this form of coagulation is sometimes used in cheap mozzarella production without maturation of the cheese.[citation needed]

The acidification can also come from bacterial fermentation such as in cultured milk.[citation needed

 

Edited September 17, 2011 by vual

[coin]

I think "Veg Cheese" sounds nicer & simpler than "Bovine Mammary Secretions innoculated with Ancient Bacteria and coagulated with enzymes derived from GM Microbes".

Sure it's not vegetable but it just makes it easy for vegetarians to identify and not have to flip over the pack and read the tiny print to look for the scary word "rennet"

some of you guys need to take some calming bioactive milk peptides & chill out

[vual]

I think "Veg Cheese" sounds nicer & simpler than "Bovine Mammary Secretions innoculated with Ancient Bacteria and coagulated with enzymes derived from GM Microbes".

Sure it's not vegetable but it just makes it easy for vegetarians to identify and not have to flip over the pack and read the tiny print to look for the scary word "rennet"

some of you guys need to take some calming bioactive milk peptides & chill out

 

[ThunderIdeal]

Since when is dairy a vegetable anyway?

I remember when the borderline omnis used titles like 'ovo-lacto' 'piscio' vegetarian, when did the law start allowing dairy to be labeled vegetarian?

I've read that in many regions western 'vegetarians' consume 2/3 as much animal products (as measured by animal protein consumption) as regular omnis, its no wonder that epidemiological data relating to vegetarian diets can be so contradictory or inconclusive.

 

i don't know when it became so but vegetarian seems to be taken as somebody who may eat dairy and egg but no form of meat. probably because people who eat none of the above are likely vegan. apparently the word vegetarian means vigorous and has nothing to do with the word vegetable or vegetation.

as far as i know the biggest vegetarian movement in the world would be hinduism and has been for a very long time. meat and egg cannot be offered to god in hinduism, they also poison your spiritual development and you karma. i wonder where most dairy fits in with the non violence thing when the dairy industry is violent to cows and their young. i wonder what is the practice for hindu milk production? they never used to kill the male calf because it could still be used for plowing etc, but now that tractors are so widespread....?

anyway, your last point is a good one auxin.

[Auxin]

'Vegetarian' is a composite of english and latin.. believer or advocate of vegetables.

Many people take 'strict vegetarian' to mean no milk, eggs, etc.

I had a 'vegetarian' teacher who would eat fish but not cheese, she figured cows were smart but fish were dumb so it was ok to eat em... made me glad I got good grades

'Vegan' is inseparably linked to the socio-political ideology of veganism which (no offense to vegans) is regarded by many to be a self righteous, preachy, and hostile fad. The type that vandalize McDonalds and throw red paint on women in fir coats. Not everyone is comfortable associating themselves with that.

People take their dietary habits too damn personal and as a result theres alot of baggage and emotional charge to the words that surround diet, the words also seem to change every damn decade lol... we should all learn a dead language and only speak living ones when we're drunk or emotional. It wouldnt fix anything but it'd make communication clearer

[ThunderIdeal]

vegetable arian, that's what i figured, and it could be right, but wiki says something along the lines of 'the vegetarian society founded in 1847 claims that the word is derived from the latin veget meaning vigour'.

[Auxin]

Well that is also true in a way, vegetable is derived from the latin term for 'able to invigorate or enliven' ie. its a nutritious food