Food and Drug Regulations

B.08.033 (1) [S]. (Naming the variety) Cheese, other than cheddar cheese, cream cheese, whey cheese, cream cheese with (named added ingredients), cream cheese spread, cream cheese spread with (named added ingredients), processed (named variety) cheese, processed (named variety) cheese with (named added ingredients), processed cheese food, processed cheese food with (named added ingredients), processed cheese spread, processed cheese spread with (named added ingredients), cold-pack (named variety) cheese, cold-pack (named variety) cheese with (named added ingredients), cold-pack cheese food, cold-pack cheese food with (named added ingredients), cottage cheese and creamed cottage cheese,

• (a) shall

  • (i) be the product made by coagulating milk, milk products or a combination thereof with the aid of bacteria to form a curd and forming the curd into a homogeneous mass after draining the whey,

  • (ii) possess the physical, chemical and organoleptic properties typical for the variety,

  • (iii) where it is a cheese of variety named in the table to this section, contain no more than the maximum percentage of moisture shown in Column II thereof for that variety,

  • (iv) where it is a cheese of a variety named in Part I of the table to this section, contain no less than the minimum percentage of milk fat shown in Column III for that variety, and

  • (v) where it is cheese of a variety named in Part II of the table to this section, contain no more than the maximum percentage of milk fat shown in Column III for that variety; and

• (b) may contain

  • (i) salt, seasonings, condiments and spices,

  • (ii) flavouring preparations other than cheese flavouring,

  • (iii) micro-organisms to aid further ripening,

  • (iv) one or more of the following colouring agents:

    • (A) in an amount consistent with good manufacturing practice, annatto, beta-carotene, chlorophyll, paprika, riboflavin or turmeric,

    • (B) in an amount not exceeding 35 parts per million, beta-apo-8’-carotenal, ethyl beta-apo-8’-carotenoate or a combination thereof, and

    • (C) in an amount not exceeding 0.10 parts per million, brilliant blue FCF in feta cheese only,

  • (v) calcium chloride as a firming agent in an amount not exceeding 0.02 per cent of the milk and milk products used,

  • (vi) paraffin wax as a coating in an amount consistent with good manufacturing practice,

  • (vii) where potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate or a combination thereof are used for the purpose and in the manner described in subsection (2), residues of potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate or a combination thereof in an amount not exceeding 50 parts per million,

  • (viii) wood smoke as a preservative in an amount consistent with good manufacturing practice,

  • (ix) the following preservatives:

    • (A) propionic acid, calcium propionate, sodium propionate or any combination thereof in an amount not exceeding 2,000 parts per million, calculated as propionic acid,

    • (B) sorbic acid, calcium sorbate, potassium sorbate, sodium sorbate, or any combination thereof in an amount not exceeding 3,000 parts per million, calculated as sorbic acid,

    • (C) any combination of the preservatives named in clauses (A) and (B) in an amount not exceeding 3,000 parts per million, calculated as propionic acid and sorbic acid respectively, or

    • (D) natamycin applied to the surface of the cheese in an amount that does not exceed 20 parts per million or, if the cheese is grated or shredded, 10 parts per million,

  • (x) in the case of grated or shredded cheese, calcium silicate, microcrystalline cellulose or cellulose, or a combination of them, as an anticaking agent, the total amount not to exceed 2.0 per cent, and

  • (xi) carbon dioxide as a pH adjusting agent in milk for cheese production, in an amount consistent with good manufacturing practice.

(2) Potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate or a combination thereof may be used as a preservative in cheese providing the following requirements are met:

• (a) the amount of the salt or combination of salts does not exceed 200 parts per million of the milk and milk products used to make the cheese;

• (b) the cheese in which the preservative is used is

  • (i) mold ripened cheese packed in a hermetically sealed container, or

  • (ii) ripened cheese

    • (A) that contains not more than 68 per cent moisture on a fat free basis, and

    • (B) during the manufacture of which the lactic acid fermentation and salting was completed more than 12 hours after coagulation of the curd by enzymes; and

• (c) the salting is, in the case of the cheese described in subparagraph (b)(ii), applied externally as a dry salt or in the form of a brine.

(3) No person shall use an enzyme other than

• (a) milk coagulating enzymes derived from Rhizomucor miehei (Cooney and Emerson) (previous name: Mucor miehei (Cooney and Emerson)), Mucor pusillus Lindt or Aspergillus oryzae RET-1 (pBoel777), aminopeptidase derived from Lactococcus lactis, Chymosin A derived from Escherichia coli K-12, GE81 (pPFZ87A), Chymosin B derived from Aspergillus niger var. awamori, GCC0349 (pGAMpR) or from Kluyveromyces marxianus var. lactis, DS1182 (pKS105), protease derived from Micrococcus caseolyticus, pepsin, rennet or bovine rennet, in the manufacture of any cheese to which subsection (1) applies;

• (b) lipase and enzymes described in paragraph (a), in the manufacture of Asiago cheese, Blue cheese, Caciocavallo cheese, Feta cheese and Provolone cheese;

• (c) a milk coagulating enzyme derived from Endothia parasitica and enzymes described in paragraph (a), in the manufacture of Emmentaler (Emmental, Swiss) cheese, Mozzarella (Scamorza) cheese and Part Skim Mozzarella (Part Skim Scamorza) cheese;

• (d) lipase, a milk coagulating enzyme derived from Endothiaparasitica and enzymes described in paragraph (a), in the manufacture of Parmesan cheese and Romano cheese;

• (e) protease derived from Aspergillus oryzae, in the manufacture of Colby cheese; and

• (f) lysozyme derived from egg white.

(3.1) No person shall use an enzyme referred to in subsection (3) at a level of use above that consistent with good manufacturing practice.

(4) Where a flavouring preparation, other than a flavouring preparation that has been traditionally used in the variety, is added to a cheese as permitted in subsection (1), the words “with (naming the flavouring preparation)” shall be added to the common name on any label.

(5) Only a cheese to which wood smoke has been added as permitted in subsection (1) may be described by the term “smoked” on a label.

(6) Where a cheese is labelled as permitted in subsection (5), the word “smoked” shall be shown on the principal display panel.

TABLE