Feb. 29--Kraft Heinz is among companies under legal fire for using cellulose, a filler made from wood chips, in its "100% Grated Parmesan Cheese" product.
On Friday, an Illinois woman named Yvonne Averhart filed a class action lawsuit against Kraft Heinz in the federal Northern District court claiming violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Similar lawsuits were filed last week against Kraft Heinz in federal courts in New York, Missouri and California.
Walmart was also sued last week over cellulose, an anti-clumping agent derived from wood chips, in its grated Parmesan cheese. The cellulose concerns stem from a Bloomberg News story about a Food and Drug Administration investigation of Castle Cheese.
Bloomberg News conducted a test with an independent laboratory. Kraft Heinz cheese, labeled "100% Grated Parmesan Cheese," was found to be 3.8 percent cellulose. Between 2 and 4 percent is considered to be an "acceptable level," according to the Bloomberg News story.
Kraft Heinz spokesman Michael Mullen couldn't be reached immediately Monday for comment on the lawsuits. In a previous comment to the Tribune, Mullen said cellulose was FDA-approved and that the Kraft Heinz cheese was still within the levels of cellulose considered acceptable.
"We are committed to the quality of our products, and we are also committed to listening to our consumers," Mullen said in an email to the Tribune last week. "We know the top complaint people have about grated Parmesan cheese is clumping of the cheese."
Jewel-Osco's Essential Everyday Parmesan Cheese was found to have the highest level of cellulose of those tested at 8.8 percent. That cheese has since been removed from all 185 Jewel-Osco stores.
