Well it finally happened. I can’t say I am surprised, but the temptation is just too great. They cheated, and they got caught. I am talking about the recent news about Castle Cheese tainting their Parmesan cheese with cellulose. Well it’s no surprise since I think some of these store-bought parmesan cheeses taste like cardboard. I was close, that’s made of wood pulp too. In a world where “clean” foods are being demanded more and more, I can’t see how anyone would think this would fly.
The good coming out of this otherwise bad story is that the U.S. Government has come down hard on the company. The President of Castle Cheese, Michelle Myrter, is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges in court, and face up to a year in prison and a healthy fine. I hope this sends a strong signal to any other offenders to clean up their act. More importantly, I hope the action by our government will give European producers the impression that we too care about keeping up standards.
Perhaps this is a wake up call for American Consumers also. Once again, the age-old economic argument that you get what you pay for applies here too. There is a reason why the real deal Parmigiano Reggiano costs more...it’s better, stupid! Now we can better understand why the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium asked the European Union for protection against American companies using the names of their cheeses.
Let’s face it. Part of the blame has to rest on our shoulders,w too. Retail buyers are presented with many options, and they ultimately get to decide what choices in brands and products consumers get to buy in their stores. I would like to think a shrewd retail buyer could wonder why one cheese offering was 30 percent less than another, and perhaps inquire or make an educated guess that the two cheeses in question aren’t the same after all.
In short, if there is no demand for inferior products, there will be no supply. Shouldn’t we put an end to this? We want to promote the love of cheese, and the way to do that is to choose to sell great tasting products.
David Spencer
Publisher, Gourmet Business
President, HousewaresDirect, Inc.
dspencer@gourmetbusiness.com