(a)

(1) Cold-pack cheese food is the food prepared by comminuting and mixing, without the aid of heat, one or more of the optional cheese ingredients prescribed in paragraph (c) of this section with one or more of the optional dairy ingredients prescribed in paragraph (d) of this section, into a homogeneous plastic mass. One or more of the optional ingredients specified in paragraph (e) of this section may be used.

(2) All cheeses used in a cold-pack cheese food are made from pasteurized milk, or are held for not less than 60 days at a temperature of not less than 35 °F before being comminuted.

(3) The moisture content of a cold-pack cheese food is not more than 44 percent, and the fat content is not less than 23 percent.

(4) Moisture and fat are determined by the methods prescribed in §133.5 (a), (b), and (d), except that in determining moisture the loss in weight which occurs in drying for 5 hours, under the conditions prescribed in such method, is taken as the weight of moisture.

(5) The weight of the cheese ingredient prescribed by paragraph (a)(1) of this section constitutes not less than 51 percent of the weight of the finished cold-pack cheese food.

(6) The weight of each variety of cheese in the cold-pack cheese food made with two varieties of cheese is not less than 25 percent of the total weight of both, except that the weight of blue cheese, nuworld cheese, roquefort cheese, gorgonzola cheese, or limburger cheese is not less than 10 percent of the total weight of both. The weight of each variety of cheese in the cold-pack cheese food made with three or more varieties of cheese is not less than 15 percent of the total weight of all, except that the weight of blue cheese, nuworld cheese, roquefort cheese, gorgonzola cheese, or limburger cheese is not less than 5 percent of the total weight of all. These limits do not apply to the quantity of cheddar cheese, washed curd cheese, colby cheese, and granular cheese in mixtures which are designated as “American cheese” as prescribed in paragraph (h)(5) of this section. Such mixtures are considered as one variety of cheese for the purposes of this paragraph (a)(6).

(b) Cold-pack cheese food may be smoked, or the cheese or cheeses from which it is made may be smoked, before comminuting and mixing, or it may contain substances prepared by condensing or precipitating wood smoke.

(c) The optional cheese ingredients referred to in paragraph (a) of this section are: One or more cheeses of the same or two or more varieties, except that cream cheese, neufchatel cheese, cottage cheese, creamed cottage cheese, cook cheese, and skim-milk cheese for manufacturing are not used, and except that semisoft part-skim cheese, part-skim spiced cheese, and hard grating cheese may not be used, alone or in combination with each other, as the cheese ingredient.

(d) The optional dairy ingredients referred to in paragraph (a) of this section are: Cream, milk, skim milk, buttermilk, cheese whey, any of the foregoing from which part of the water has been removed, anhydrous milkfat, dehydrated cream, skim milk cheese for manufacturing, and albumin from cheese whey. All optional dairy ingredients used in cold-pack cheese food are pasteurized or made from products that have been pasteurized.

(e) The other optional ingredients referred to in paragraph (a) of this section are:

(1) An acidifying agent consisting of one or any mixture of two or more of the following: A vinegar, lactic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, and phosphoric acid, in such quantity that the pH of the finished cold-pack cheese food is not below 4.5.

(2) Water.

(3) Salt.

(4) Harmless artificial coloring.

(5) Spices or flavorings, other than any which singly or in combination with other ingredients simulate the flavor of cheese of any age or variety.

(6) A sweetening agent consisting of one or any mixture of two or more of the following: Sugar, dextrose, corn sugar, corn sirup, corn sirup solids, glucose sirup, glucose sirup solids, maltose, malt sirup, and hydrolyzed lactose, in a quantity necessary for seasoning.

(7) Cold-pack cheese food in consumer-sized packages may contain an optional mold-inhibiting ingredient consisting of sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium sorbate, or any combination of two or more of these, in an amount not to exceed 0.3 percent by weight, calculated as sorbic acid or consisting of not more than 0.3 percent by weight of sodium propionate, calcium propionate, or a combination of sodium propionate and calcium propionate.

(8) In the preparation of cold-pack cheese food, guar gum or xanthan gum, or both, may be used, but the total quantity of such ingredient or combination is not to exceed 0.3 percent of the weight of the finished food. When one or both such optional ingredients is used, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate complying with the requirements of §172.810 of this chapter may be used in a quantity not in excess of 0.5 percent by weight of such ingredient or ingredients.

(f) The name of the food is “cold-pack cheese food”. The full name of the food shall appear on the principal display panel of the label in type of uniform size, style, and color. Wherever any word or statement emphasizing the name of (other than in an ingredient statement any ingredient appears on the label as specified in paragraph (h) of this section) so conspicuously as to be easily seen under customary conditions of purchase, the full name of the food shall immediately and conspicuously precede or follow such word or statement in type of at least the same size as the type used in such word or statement.

(g) The name of the food shall include a declaration of any flavoring, including smoke and substances prepared by condensing or precipitating wood smoke, that characterizes the product as specified in §101.22 of this chapter and a declaration of any spice that characterizes the product.

(h) Each of the ingredients used in the food shall be declared on the label as required by the applicable sections of parts 101 and 130 of this chapter, except that cheddar cheese, washed curd cheese, colby cheese, granular cheese, or any mixture of two or more of these, may be designated as “American cheese”.

[42 FR 14366, Mar. 15, 1977, as amended at 49 FR 10093, Mar. 19, 1984; 58 FR 2892, Jan. 6, 1993]