t is virtually impossible for the professional buyer or consumer to know whether a packet of grated cheese contains the right amount of starch or whether it contains fat other than milk fat. Even the quality of the product is difficult to assess from the outside of the package.

The leading cheese grating companies in the Netherlands have joined the ‘Grated Cheese Quality Controlled’ programme. With this quality assurance programme, buyers have an objective guarantee that a package of grated cheese really contains what is stated on the package. Moreover, the programme stimulates quality awareness in the chain of grated cheese, from production to consumer.

The affiliated companies undergo regular inspections from Qlip (the organisation for quality analyses and certification of the Dutch dairy sector). The analysis examines the amount of starch, declaration of the right ingredients, and the absence of fat other than milk fat (e.g. vegetable fat).

To bring the quality of grated cheese in the ‘Grated Cheese Quality Controlled’ programme to an even higher level, producers have implemented internal quality requirements in 2014. This has resulted in additional microbiological requirements for their products (Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and mould). In addition to an objective guarantee that a bag of shredded cheese actually contains what is stated on the package, the product is also demonstrably safe.