Beerball Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 as asinine as it seems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Not to go all PPP here but this is government regulation out of control. The FDA and Health Dept drive me nuts with what the require sometimes. Is porous substance like wood an issue? Sure it could be but cheese production facilities are some of the most sanitary facilites I've ever been in. They have to be. It's there livelihood. One batch of contaminated cheese gets out and they're done. And when was the last time you heard of an outbreak of food borne illness from improperly aged cheese? Does it happen? Sure but it usually comes from contaminated milk not the aging process. And it's not like people are dropping from it left and right. Just as the US was becoming the leader in artisan cheese the FDA sets them back 20 years. From one of the artisan cheese makers I follow on Facebook. Bellwether Farms would like for our customers and friends to be updated on the recent restrictions the FDA has placed on American cheesemakers. The new rule states that we can not continue aging our cheeses on wood. It should be said that we have been aging Carmody, Pepato and San Andreas on wood for over 20 years. They all use wood. Well most of them anyway. Sign the petition. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/lift-fda-restrictions-ripening-cheese-wooden-boards-which-will-devastate-american-craft-cheese/JXNNnM7x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBud Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Some side info on wood from a cheese making supply house - http://www.cheesemaking.com/Wood4Aging.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CowgirlsFan Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Makes sense. My son has a degree in Hospitality Management and never uses a wooden cuting board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 (edited) Makes sense. My son has a degree in Hospitality Management and never uses a wooden cuting board. That's because cooks are typically dumbasses. The challenge with wood cutting boards is cross contamination. Kind of hard to cross contaminate when you're only putting one thing on the wood. BTW I think my degree and experience trumps your son's Edited June 9, 2014 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Ok. This really sucks. My wife said I need to step up my cheese production because it soom may be the only artisan cheese we'll have. BTW I age mine on wood. you FDA! http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2014/06/09/fda-may-destroy-american-artisan-cheese-industry/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Poojer Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 cheese on your wood? try bathing Ok. This really sucks. My wife said I need to step up my cheese production because it soom may be the only artisan cheese we'll have. BTW I age mine on wood. you FDA! http://www.forbes.co...heese-industry/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 cheese on your wood? try bathing But then the cheese would fall off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Holy Snikes Batman! Quick, somebody contact the FDA and let them know that wine and bourbon are aged in wood - and IN THE DARK! Just think of the nasties growing there! They have to protect us from ourselves. OMG! What's worse is that those savages reuse those wooden barrels and casks... Some for dozens of years. Help, help, help, help, help!!! Save us FDA! SAVE US!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jauronimo Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 A practice hundreds of years old is suddenly unsafe according to government. The world will be a safer place once society is rid of the scourge of aged foods and open fermentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Ok. This really sucks. My wife said I need to step up my cheese production because it soom may be the only artisan cheese we'll have. BTW I age mine on wood. you FDA! http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2014/06/09/fda-may-destroy-american-artisan-cheese-industry/ We will have to forgo sampling your cheese due to inherent health risks .... Leave it to the FDA to stick itself into the midst of a thousand plus year old practice. What's next? No sashimi because it's raw? How about informing consumers of the potential, if not minimal, risks and let them make a decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I know absolutely nothing about the process of aging cheese. What does the wood add to it? Is it just a flavor thing or is there more to it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 (edited) A practice hundreds of years old is suddenly unsafe according to government. The world will be a safer place once society is rid of the scourge of aged foods and open fermentation. In the US we can't use raw milk for cheese making unless the cheese is aged for at least 60 days. The French have been making fresh cheeses with raw milk for centuries without incident. I know absolutely nothing about the process of aging cheese. What does the wood add to it? Is it just a flavor thing or is there more to it? Some say it does impart a flavor but the main reason is you typically have to age cheese on a flat surface and wood is the cheapest and most readily available. Edited June 10, 2014 by Chef Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Some say it does impart a flavor but the main reason is you typically have to age cheese on a flat surface and wood is the cheapest and most readily available. So it's simply a money thing? I was expecting some highly technical aspect to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 So it's simply a money thing? I was expecting some highly technical aspect to it. No it's not simply a money thing. Part of it is money, part is ease of use and part is air circulation. Too much air circulation and the cheese dries out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Holy Snikes Batman! Quick, somebody contact the FDA and let them know that wine and bourbon are aged in wood - and IN THE DARK! Just think of the nasties growing there! They have to protect us from ourselves. OMG! What's worse is that those savages reuse those wooden barrels and casks... Some for dozens of years. Help, help, help, help, help!!! Save us FDA! SAVE US!!!!! It's alcohol... Do you share the wine chalice @ mass? Anyway... One listeria outbreak and everybody will be screaming for the FDA. Are we doomed to repeat our grandparents mistakes when there were lack of regulations. I understand the whole argument... I get the wood thing. Yes, the FDA is taking the easy way out. Let them use wood, but watch them more closely. Or, how about labeling it that it was aged on wood? I am not siding with the FDA, they are taking the lazy way out. No it's not simply a money thing. Part of it is money, part is ease of use and part is air circulation. Too much air circulation and the cheese dries out. That's what I didn't know until I looked it up. Isn't there some way they can keep the moisture and formation of listeria down and still use wood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 It's alcohol... Do you share the wine chalice @ mass? Anyway... One listeria outbreak and everybody will be screaming for the FDA. Are we doomed to repeat our grandparents mistakes when there were lack of regulations. I understand the whole argument... I get the wood thing. Yes, the FDA is taking the easy way out. Let them use wood, but watch them more closely. Or, how about labeling it that it was aged on wood? I am not siding with the FDA, they are taking the lazy way out. That's what I didn't know until I looked it up. Isn't there some way they can keep the moisture and formation of listeria down and still use wood? Yes do what they've been doing for hundreds of years. France ages 300,000 tons.....TONS of cheese on wood. No listeria outbreaks there. Why change/regulate something that is not a problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 No it's not simply a money thing. Part of it is money, part is ease of use and part is air circulation. Too much air circulation and the cheese dries out. Thanks for the info. What would the difference be with some sort of metal surface, can that lead to temperature issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Thanks for the info. What would the difference be with some sort of metal surface, can that lead to temperature issues? Yup. But once again why force them to stop using a method that has been used for centuries with very little problems? Many of these producers are very very small. We go to one in Sonoma that you walk in a 10x10 room and a bell rings. A girl comes out cuts you a piece of cheese to taste and then you buy. It's $7 a pound there. I've seen it in cheese shops for $25 a pound. It's great stuff and he only makes one kind of cheese. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Yes do what they've been doing for hundreds of years. France ages 300,000 tons.....TONS of cheese on wood. No listeria outbreaks there. Why change/regulate something that is not a problem? That's what I don't get. There has to be scientific proof in what the FDA is putting down. Are they really just being lazy? Being the heavy... Is the artisan cheese production getting too much for them to handle? What do they do different in France? How do they keep the boards from growing the wrong bacteria? That's a lot of cheese... To put that in prespective. That's about 200 barges (200' long x35' wide) @ 9' draft. @ 12 barges a day +/-... That's about 1/2 month of product that gets pushed through on the waterways. And CHEESE. Not steel/salt/corn or soy... WOW... That's a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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