13.7 Standard on cheese

13-7

(1) This Standard applies to cheese and cheese products, intended for direct consumption or further processing. This Standard applies in compliance with Codex Standard A-6-1978.

(2) Cheese is the ripened or unripened soft, semi-hard, hard, or extra-hard product, which may be coated, and in which the whey protein/casein ratio does not exceed that of milk, obtained by—

• (a)coagulating wholly or partly the protein of milk, skimmed milk, partly skimmed milk, cream, whey cream or buttermilk or any combination of these materials, through the action of rennet or other suitable coagulating agents, and by partially draining the whey resulting from the coagulation, while respecting the principle that cheese-making results in a concentration of milk protein (in particular, the casein portion), and that consequently, the protein content of the cheese will be distinctly higher than the protein level of the blend of the above milk materials from which the cheese was made; and/or
• (b)processing techniques involving coagulation of the protein of milk and/ or products obtained from milk which give an end product with similar physical, chemical and organoleptic characteristics as the product defined under subparagraph (2)(a).

(3) Ripened cheese means cheese which is not ready for consumption shortly after manufacture but which shall be held for such time, at such temperature, and under such other conditions as will result in the necessary biochemical and physical changes characterising the cheese in question.

(4) Mould ripened cheese means a ripened cheese in which the ripening has been accomplished primarily by the development of characteristic mould growth throughout the interior and/or on the surface of the cheese.

(5) Unripened cheese including fresh cheese means cheese which is ready for consumption shortly after manufacture.

(6) Food additives permitted for use in cheese shall comply with the Codex General Standard on Food Additives (192-1995 and its revisions).

(7) Permitted ingredients include—

• (a)milk and/or products obtained from milk;
• (b)starter cultures of harmless lactic acid and/or flavour producing bacteria and cultures of other harmless micro-organisms;
• (c)safe and suitable enzymes;
• (d)sodium chloride;
• (e)potable water; and
• (f)food additives permitted in accordance with Codex.

(8) In addition to the general requirements on labeling of pre-packaged foods, the name of the food shall be cheese. However, the word “cheese” may be omitted in the designation of an individual named cheese, and, in the absence thereof, a variety name may be used, provided that the omission does not create an erroneous impression regarding the character of the food.

(9) In case the product is not designated with a variety name but with the designation “cheese” alone, the designation may be accompanied by the appropriate descriptive terms in the following table—

Designation according to firmness and ripening characteristics
MFFB5 %	Designation According to firmness (Term I) and according to principal ripening (Term 2)
<51	Extra hard	Ripened
49-56	Hard	Mould ripened
54-69	Firm/Semi-hard	Unripened/Fresh
>67	Soft	In brine

(10) The milkfat content shall be declared either (i) as a percentage by mass, (ii) as a percentage of fat in dry matter, or (iii) in grams per serving as quantified in the label provided that the number of servings is stated. Additionally, the following terms may be used—

High fat	(if the content of FDM6 is above or equal to 60%);
Full fat	(if the content of FDM is above or equal to 45% and less than 60%)
Medium fat	(if the content of FDM is above or equal to 25% and less than 45%)
Partially skimmed	(if the content of FDM is above or equal to 10% and less than 25%)
Skim	(if the content of FDM is less than 10%)

(11) The date of minimum durability need not be declared in the labeling of firm, hard and extra hard cheese which are not mould or soft-ripened and not intended to be purchased as such by the final consumer and in such cases the date of manufacture shall be declared.