Shredded Mozzarella Cheese — OKAY

Munch or Dump rates Shredded Mozzarella Cheese by Signature Farms OKAY — score 62/90.

The cheese itself is real and simple, but shredding adds a couple of things a block does not have: an anti-caking coating and natamycin to slow mold. Neither is dangerous, yet they nudge this a step below a clean block of cheese. Buying a block and shredding it yourself avoids the extras entirely.

Why this verdict

• Real part-skim mozzarella base — cultured milk, salt, enzymes
• Anti-caking starch and cellulose coat the shreds so they do not clump
• Contains natamycin, a mold-inhibiting preservative absent from block cheese
• High in saturated fat and sodium like all cheese

Ingredients (5)

• Low Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese (safe) — Real cheese made from cultured part-skim milk, salt, and enzymes. Protein and calcium.
• CHEESE CULTURES (safe) — Bacterial cultures that ferment the milk into cheese. Standard and harmless.
• Salt (caution) — Condensed soups run high in sodium per serving once prepared.
• Potato starch and powdered cellulose (moderate) — Anti-caking coating that keeps shreds separate. Inert fillers, but they are why pre-shredded cheese melts less smoothly than fresh.
• natamycin (moderate) — A natural mold-inhibiting preservative applied to the surface. Safe at these levels, but it is an additive block cheese does not need.