Parmesan cheese sold at stores including Walmart and Whole Foods might not be what you think it is

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A new report shows your favorite Parmesan cheese may contain some ingredients that you might find disconcerting.

Bloomberg News tested store-bought grated cheeses for cellulose, revealing that all of the cheeses tested contained the anti-clumping additive made of wood pulp.

Walmart's Great Value 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese registered 7.8% cellulose, while Jewel-Osco's Essential Everyday 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese clocked in at 8.8%.

Kraft had 3.8%.

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Cheese makers and retailers told Bloomberg they were investigating the test results further.

Cellulose is a safe additive, Bloomberg notes, listed as an ingredient in these "100%" cheeses. However, an acceptable level is 2% to 4%.

parmesan cheese

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Whole Foods does not list cellulose as an ingredient, but the Whole Foods 365 Parmesan tested at 0.3% cellulose.

The company told Bloomberg it is investigating the matter, but believes the test may have been a false positive.

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Cheese makers often mix in higher levels of the wood pulp when making cheese because it is more inexpensive than pure Parmesan.

The FDA is investigating another cheese marker: Castle Cheese Inc.

The company's president is scheduled this month to plead guilty to pumping products full of cellulose and using cheaper cheddar instead of real Romano.

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