Is Cheez Whiz one step away from plastic?

Is Cheez Whiz one step away
from plastic?
Making plastic from milk products
Avoid high-cholesterol eggs. Fat is bad for you. Skipping
breakfast will keep you slim! Urban food myths have
become commonplace, cropping up all over the food world,
continuing to mystify even the most knowledgeable people.
The more ridiculous the myth, the more widespread it will
become. That begs the question: Is Cheez Whiz really one
step away from being plastic?
For nearly five decades, Cheez Whiz has been manufactured
as a commercial cheese spread as it is composed of 47%
milk fat. According to Kim McMiller, Associate Director,
Consumer Relations of Kraft Canada Inc., the procedure for
making Cheez Whiz “begins by blending natural cheeses,
milk solids and canola oil heated with an emulsifier. The
emulsifier helps the blending process. The result is a cheese
of uniform flavour and texture. It is more spreadable and
melts better than natural cheese. Casein is a protein found
in cow´s milk and as such is a dairy ingredient. In addition,
any and all preservatives will be listed on the ingredient line
of the product. The milk in all our products is pasteurized.”
An abundant component of milk, casein constitutes about
80 % of the total proteins, and is also a primary ingredient
in cheese. Casein can be precipitated from milk by addition
of heat and vinegar. These conditions denature the casein
(disturbs the casein micelle granules) which then unfolds
and rearranges into long chain polymers, and comes out of
solution as a curd.
Should plastic be defined in layman terms, it is a material
that can be heated and moulded, but retains its shape after
cooling. Plastics can be made of long chains (polymers)
consisting of small molecules like proteins. Plastic can be
divided into two forms: natural plastics (silk and rubber)
and synthetic plastics (vinyl and acrylics). “Even if the
statement that cheese whiz is one molecule away from
plastic is true, it is essentially meaningless. Many disparate
substances share similar chemical properties but even one
molecule difference in their molecular structure can make
a huge difference in the qualities of those substances.
A common example is water and hydrogen peroxide.
3
Although the only difference between the two is an
oxygen molecule they are very different substances with
different chemical properties,” says Lee Finell, a registered
nutritionist representing Alberta’s Dairy Producers. An
experiment in which milk has been polymerized to
“natural plastic” similar to synthetic plastics in stores has
been preformed. It involves precipitating out the casein
by adding vinegar (an acid) and heat. This concept can
be applied to Cheez Whiz, so if you just consider natural
plastics, Cheez Whiz is indeed only one step away from
plastic!
- Nicole Hiebert, Brittany Richardson, Suzy
Nguyen and Kyle Dehaan
Is Cheez Whiz really one step
away from plastic?
Brittany, Kyle, Suzy, Nicole
- Milk and Part-Skim Milk
- Water
- Whey
- Milkfat
- Sodium Phosphate
- < 2% Of Dried Corn Syrup
- Salt
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Natural Preservative
- Annatto (Coloring)
- Oleoresin Paprika
- Enzymes
• According to Kraft foods, Cheez Whiz is considered a “processed cheese
sauce.”
• Made of scrap trimmings of natural cheddar blended and heated together
with salt, preservatives and color.
• Kraft has withheld information for proprietary reasons leading us to believe
there is more to Cheez Whiz to “add personality”…
Traditional:
•Plant oils
•Butter
•Fossil fuels
•Skim/ Whole Milk Powder
•Evaporated Milk
•Heterochain polymers: Oxygen,
Nitrogen, Sulfur
•Cheese
•Long Carbon chains
•Yogurt
Non Traditional:
•Whey Powder,
•Whey Protein Concentrate and Milk
Protein Concentrate
•Lactose
Proteins
•Casein, albumin, and globulin
• Milk is simply saturated fat, protein, lactose, and vitamins and
minerals including vitamin C and calcium.
• The specific composition differs between species.
• During the cheese making process, most of the lactose is
removed when the protein and milkfat is congealed.
• Milkfat is a sugar molecule surrounded by a lipid membrane;
the composition of the cheese depends on the type of milk
used and the method of production.
• Plastic: A material that can be heated and molded so
that it keeps its molded shape after it cools. We consider
plastics to be made of long chains (polymers) consisting of
small molecules (proteins).
•A protein called casein makes up about 80% of the total
proteins in cow’s milk, and is also a main ingredient in
cheese/ Cheez Whiz.
•There is an experiment in which milk is polymerized to a
“natural plastic” similar to those synthetic plastics in the
store. It involves precipitating out the casein by adding
vinegar (an acid) and heat.
•This concept can be applied to Cheez Whiz, so if you just
consider natural plastics, Cheez Whiz is indeed only one
step away from plastic!
•Examples of natural plastics:
• Silk from silkworms
• Latex/ rubber from the bark of certain trees