Velveeta's fake product shortage and why the news SUCKS BAD

[elehhhhna]

This stunt is the ultimate proof imo that rather than news gathering, these "news" bozoz simply read press releases as they come in.

Velveeta says "we don't know why but we have a shortage" and it
turns out it's available everywhere but only in the larger size.

And this, today, passes for national "news".

[redwitch]

1. We have reached peak Velveeta?

Oh the humanity!

[Ed Suspicious]

3. I would guess that it is made from mostly oil, so...

[snooper2]

11. This guy might get upset

[BobUp]

2. Could this be a duplicate thread?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1018&pid=549809

[democratisphere]

4. Many Americans would be better off with a shortage of Velveeta Cheese and Tortilla Corn Chips.

Kraft is just another unscrupulous corporation that will do anything to sell its products.

[DetlefK]

7. Did you know? When you buy a bag of potato-chips...

... the plastic-bag is more expensive than the content.

[intaglio]

5. Cheese and Velveeta - only very loosely connected

In 2002, the FDA issued a Warning Letter to Kraft that Velveeta was being sold with packaging that described it as a "Pasteurized Process Cheese Spread",[7] which the FDA claimed was misbranded because the product declared milk protein concentrate (MPC) in its ingredients listing. Velveeta is now sold in the US as a "Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product",[8] a term for which the FDA does not maintain a standard of identity, and which therefore may contain MPC.

[erpowers]

6. Local News Pointed That Out

My local news station pointed out that the shortage was confined to the smaller sizes. The Today show also did a story about the so called shortage that from beginning to end questioned the validity of the shortage. The story was mainly a mock piece that made fun of the idea of a shortage and the reactions to the announcement of the shortage. The reporter reporting the story and the show anchors did not go as far as to point out that there was no shortage of larger sizes of Velveeta, but most of them did point out that they thought the story was a stunt by Kraft, the company that makes Velveeta.

[gelsdorf]

8. After 40 years in the grocery business

I knew this was a farce from the beginning. What a better way to pump sales by bringing in the fear monster

[MineralMan]

9. Velveeta IS a fake product.

Nasty "cheez food product." Ack, phooey! Fish bait, it is.

[B2G]

10. No it's not

http://discovermagazine.com/2011/sep/16-the-secret-of-velveeta-how-cheese-food-is-made

[MineralMan]

12. Oh, yes it is.

It is not cheese. It is cheese food. It may have been cheese at one point, but as it is packaged, it cannot be called cheese. It must be labeled as "Pasteurized Process Cheese Food." You can eat "cheese food" if you like, but it's no longer cheese. It's something else, and the FDA agrees. It's fake cheez. Always has been.

Velveeta is nasty.

[B2G]

16. I like it for cooking and

the process has been in place for over 100 years.

Perhaps you can enlighten me as why the process to make cheese is so much more 'real' than the one used to make a cheese food product.

[MineralMan]

19. Look at the ingredients in Velveeta.

Look at the ingredients on a package of real cheddar cheese.

Cheese-making is an ancient process, involving milk and rennet, used to create curds. That is all that real cheese requires. Other ingredients may be added for taste, and color, and even molds may be introduced for some cheeses. But cheese is a natural product, made of natural ingredients. Velveeta is factory food. While cheese is part of what is in Velveeta, Velveeta is not cheese, and Kraft can't label it as cheese, by law.

Learn about cheese-making here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheesemaking

Velveeta is a modern process that turns cheese into something else that is not cheese. It is cheese food. It is processed cheese. It is a cheese byproduct, incorporating whey, various chemicals, and other ingredients to make it look, taste, and act as it does. Velveeta melts easily and sort of stays melted without lumps. That's it's main feature.

It doesn't taste like cheese. It doesn't act like cheese. It's not cheese, and Kraft can't label it as cheese. They have to call it "Pasteurized Processed Cheese Product." If it were cheese, they'd call it cheese. The FDA won't let them call it cheese, because it's not cheese.

Learn about Velveeta here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velveeta

It's fake cheese. I eat real cheese, only.

[B2G]

20. So you don't eat american cheese, cream cheese

or any of the delicious cheese spreads out there.

Fine by me.

[MineralMan]

21. No, I don't.

I eat cheddar, mozarella, swiss, jack, gorgonzola, and many, many other real cheeses. If I want a cheese spread, I make one, starting with real cheese. If I want cheese sauce, I make a basic bechamel sauce, starting with a butter and flour roux, adding cream or milk, and then blending in real cheese to produce the sauce I want. It's quick and easy to do, and tastes just as I intend it to taste.

American cheese isn't actually cheese, either. Why would I eat that, say, on a grilled cheese sandwich, when there are so many excellent real cheeses to use in such a sandwich? Why would I put a slice of American cheese on a burger, when I could top it with a slice of real swiss cheese or crumble gorgonzola cheese on it?

You'd also enjoy my toasted cheese chips, which are nothing but grated cheese in a thin layer, toasted in a bit of butter and then cut into chips. Don't try making them with anything but real cheese, though, like cheddar or parmesan. If you use a processed cheese product, you'll just end up with an oily mess, instead of delicious toasted cheese lace-like chips. Yum!

You're more than welcome to use whatever cheese-like substance you want in your diet. That's your choice.

[B2G]

23. I eat and cook with natural cheeses all of the time

I see no reason not to enjoy both.

[cherokeeprogressive]

25. It makes yummy grilled "cheese food" sandwiches LOL n/t

[Jenoch]

37. Actually, there is real, American cheese, it just isn't sold in individually wrapped slices.

Even though Velveeta is a 'cheese food' and you choose not to eat it, it does have its uses. The Kraft plant in New Ulm lost 90 jobs when they moved Velveeta production to Illinois.

[Dorian Gray]

55. I know this is going to make me sound like a snob

(and you weren't asking me as I wasn't arguing the point), but I don't either. I find all of those cheese spreads gross. Real cheese or nothing for me.

(Even single sliced Kraft cheeses melted on a burger gross me out.)

I feel like I can taste plastic in them.

Though I've been known to have cheese cake (made with cream cheese). That's probably the one exception. I love cheese cake!

[ronnie624]

27. The milk protein concentrate that makes Velveeta "fake"

is found in other products as well, like infant formulas, protein bars, yogurt and frozen confections. You probably consume it on a regular basis, without even realizing it.

[Major Nikon]

52. There's nothing fake about milk protein concentrate

It is derived from milk the same as cheese. The process of making cheese also concentrates milk proteins. The processes are different, but the basic ingredient is the same.

[ronnie624]

64. I was using the word as applied by someone else, hence the quotation. n/t

[MurrayDelph]

29. I make frequent trips to Tillamook

where one can get real cheese.

"Cheese food" sounds too much like you're not getting cheese, you're getting what cheese eats.

And don't get me started on Cheese Whiz.

[TeeYiYi]

33. I used to love Cheez Whiz...

...with celery sticks when I was younger.

I haven't purchased Cheez Whiz in over a decade so I decided to buy some for a Christmas party this year. I don't know what that shit was but it didn't even resemble it's former self. It looked like oily sludge. So much for overly processed cheese products in a jar. There is no longer anything remotely cheesy about it.

TYY

[Jenoch]

38. In another DU thread I learned that

they took out all of the real cheese in Cheez Whiz in 2001. Prior to that it did contain real cheese.

[TeeYiYi]

39. Dairy farmers of America...

...probably rejoiced the day they took all the cheese out of Cheese Whiz. As a result, former Cheez Whiz addicts have been forced to buy and consume actual, real cheese. Probably a win all around but I do miss my Cheez Whiz stuffed celery sticks.

TYY

[Jenoch]

40. I liked Cheez Whiz as a kid.

I wonder if the Phildelphia cheesesteak places noticed the change back in 2001.

I bought an off brand of Cheez Whiz at Aldi a while back and was disappointed. I thought I should buy actual Cheez Whiz, now I know better.

[IntravenousDemilo]

57. It does still contain real whiz, however.

And salt. Lots and lots lots of salt.

[Jenoch]

60. I read a story from one of the

creators of Cheez Whiz who tasted it in in 2001 and discovered it no longer had any actual cheese.

[MineralMan]

47. Good stuff.

Last edited Fri Jan 10, 2014, 10:27 AM - Edit history (1)

Great cheese is made in all of the dairy states. In North Carolina, I saw a billboard that red, "See cheese made - next exit." I took the next exit.

[Atman]

58. We spend a lot of time in Vermont.

Cheese and maple syrup. Cabot cheese and a great regional brand, Grafton Country Store, both are located there...and have great tasting centers! Cabot's company store is funny, because it's right near one of the big ski resorts. At the end of the day the place is filled up with broke-ass snowboarders scarfing down the free samples for dinner.

[oberliner]

62. You might want to edit this post

A typo or two, if you care about that sort of thing.

[MineralMan]

63. Hey, thanks. I made a correction.

[bluestate10]

42. Midwestern cheese elitism. What's new. I think Vermont cheese is the best.

[MineralMan]

46. Actually, I like california cheese.

That's where I lived most of my life. Still, Vermont Country Store has some excellent aged cheddar. It's all good, as long as it's real cheese.

[TreasonousBastard]

28. Ya know, engaging cheese snobs is as fruitless as...

engaging wine snobs.

Personally, I enjoy a proper fontina d'aosta (if you can find one any more) and always have small stocks of proper cheddars and swisses around, but that 2 pound brick of Velveeta in the fridge door I got for 8 bucks is just perfect for a burger or a (horribly low-class) bologna sandwich.

Cheez-whiz, on the other hand, I can't stand, but still don't think all that badly of those who do use it.

[ronnie624]

31. The funny thing is,

the snobs consume milk protein concentrate regularly, without even realizing it. I don't really care for Velveeta, so I never buy it, but I would never begrudge anyone else enjoying it.

[TreasonousBastard]

34. Just to be clear-- from Kraft itself is the list ingredients...

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/Products/ProductInfoDisplay.aspx?siteid=1&product=2100061689

Ingredients: NONFAT MILK AND MILKFAT, WHEY, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, MILK, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, MALTODEXTRIN, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID, SORBIC ACID AS A PRESERVATIVE, SODIUM ALGINATE, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM CITRATE, CHEESE CULTURE, ENZYMES, APOCAROTENAL AND ANNATTO (COLOR).

Now, which of these is the mystery ingredient destined to kill us all?

(And you might be surprised when you find out what apocarotenol is...)

[bluestate10]

44. Pray Thee never run into a wine and cheese snob.

[elehhhhna]

45. LOL I found squeezecheese (swedish) in a toothpastelike tube once

my snobfoodie sister and I LOVED it. Salty but good.

[liberal N proud]

53. And to raise the hype for the fake product, they create a fake shortage

The only way you can have a shortage of this stuff is to cut back on production. I really doubt it is because demand is up.

[IntravenousDemilo]

56. It's safe to assume that any product billed as "cheese food" is neither.

[randome]

13. One of human addictions that gets scant coverage: food.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]The truth doesn’t always set you free.
Sometimes it builds a bigger cage around the one you’re already in.[/center][/font][hr]

[Atman]

14. They need to say a snowstorm is preventing them from delivering more Velveeta...

Up here in New England, people will rush to the supermarkets and stock up on ANYTHING if they think a snowstorm is coming. This, despite the fact that it is New England, and it has snowed here since the invention of snow itself. When did people get so fucking stupid?

[Atman]

15. BWHAHA! Just as posted that last reply, MSNBC started a story about it...mocking.

"Cheesy PR stunt, or real shortage?"

Funniest comment was about someone who had lots of it in storage. They joked that it probably doesn't go bad anyway, and has a long shelf life, so don't worry about any shortage.

What a brilliant scam...they've got everyone talking about it. BRILLIANT!

[randome]

17. Hell, they could probably use it to wrap around the Fukushima reactor!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]

[jmowreader]

48. Velveeta's package is the equivalent of a can.

Most supermarkets don't put it in the refrigerated case. Until you open it, there's no need.

[Orrex]

18. I have not knowing consumed Velveeta in my adult life

And we weren't a "brand name" family growing up, so I'm not sure that I've ever actually consumed it.


No judgment on those who favor this product. Just an idle thought.

[Vashta Nerada]

22. Maybe this fake Velveeta shortage will force people to buy good real cheese.

[quinnox]

24. Well, I for one eat Velveeta all the time

And not just because it melts well, but I also use it straight as cheese in cold sandwiches. I like the flavor of it.

[B2G]

26. I use it mainly for cooking, but

A few chunks always seem to be missing from the recipe.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

30. It's an Abomination unto the Lord.

And I'm an atheist.

It's not real cheese. Please use real cheese.

Cool Whip is also an abomination unto the Lord. It's cottonseed oil, like the fake ice cream, soft serve, they have at Dairy Queen. No way.

If you have to hide your dessert under Cool Whip, you have a problem.
Please use REAL whipped cream, using a carton of heavy cream and a mixer, or a can of Reddi Wip.

That's your free cooking advice for today.

[kestrel91316]

32. IMHO Velveeta doesn't qualify as food. It much more closely resembles a petroleum product.

Or by-product.

[Blue Owl]

35. Americans Sick of Fake News, Cheese

n/t

[Revanchist]

36. while I won't disparage those who enjoy velveeta

I personally find it too salty for my taste

[Glassunion]

41. I blame Colorado...

Just sayin'

[spinbaby]

43. I don't normally eat it, however...

...if you ever have to feed many people on a budget, Velveeta makes a very acceptable low-cost mac & cheese:

Cook until almost done, 4 cups (1 pound) of elbow macaroni.
Drain macaroni and mix in 2 sticks (1 cup) of frozen butter, cut into small pieces.
Put macaroni mix into slow cooker with 4 pounds of cubed Velveeta and 6 cups of milk.
Cook on high for 3 hours, stirring now and then.
This requires a large six-quart slow cooker—it won’t fit into the smaller round ones.

[pinboy3niner]

49. Those bastards! The only solution is to gruyere own!

[countryjake]

50. No whey, they curd brie lying...

Colby they're just trying to start a clabber before Super Bowl.

[pinboy3niner]

51. You have won the day, Sir

Color me bleu.

[Eleanors38]

66. No gouda comes from this.

[Dorian Gray]

54. Velveeta is gross

I'm thankful I don't give a shit about their "shortage."

[IntravenousDemilo]

59. Kraft is a nasty, greedy, exploitative, unethical corporation.

Maybe not as evil and exploitative as Nestlé or Monsanto, but getting up there.

Responsible people will avoid their products like the plague.

[dembotoz]

61. some ad agency earned every penny they were paid. The fact that it was reported as news

is what is awful