‘Fake Cheese’ Lumps of Saturated Fat… How to Distinguish It?

The foods you usually enjoy might not be real food, but rather lumps of synthetic materials. These are referred to as imitation foods; processed using artificial flavors or additives, they mimic the taste and color of real food, making them difficult to distinguish. Let's take a look at some representative imitation foods and how to identify them.

 

◇Orange juice

 

Some orange juice is fake orange juice that does not contain oranges at all or contains only a small amount.

It is a mixed beverage made by adding water, sugar, artificial flavors, colorings, etc. Under current Korean food labeling standards, even if fruit is not used and syrup, purified water, or additives are included, the label "100%" can be used as long as squeezed fruit juice is present. An analysis of 13 commercially available orange juices by the Citizens' Coalition for Consumer Rights revealed that all products were concentrated reconstituted juices using phrases such as "Orange 100%" or "Orange 100."

 

Concentrated reconstituted juice is a product made by concentrating raw materials at high temperatures and then adding additives to match the original concentration. It differs from cold-pressed juice, which consists solely of real fruit juice. Fortunately, since 2020, if food additives are included, the name or purpose of the additive must be mandatorily listed next to or below the "100%" label. However, despite the mandatory labeling of additives, some point out that consumer confusion cannot be completely resolved because the "100%" labeling remains unchanged. To find genuine orange juice made entirely of fruit juice, one must check the ingredients and their content. Juice containing only oranges must list "orange" or "orange juice" without including purified water, artificial colors, or flavorings.

◇Cheese

 

Some restaurants and supermarkets sell fake cheese instead of real cheese made from milk.

 

Fake cheese is made by mixing food additives with edible oil, and its accurate term is imitation cheese. While it tastes similar to regular cheese, it is high in saturated fat and calories. It has no nutritional value as it lacks the protein, calcium, and vitamins A, D, E, and B complex that are abundant in real cheese. To identify imitation cheese, you must carefully examine the food type and ingredients. Imitation cheese is classified under the category of processed edible oils and fats.

 

If additional ingredients are added, it is classified as other processed products. Real cheese is classified as a cheese product within dairy products. Imitation cheese is primarily made from edible oils such as palm oil and hydrogenated palm oil. Regular cheese is divided into cheese made from raw milk or dairy products, and processed cheese made from natural cheese. Cheese with a high raw milk content is the less processed 'real cheese'.

 

◇Milk

 

Among the types of milk we drink, there are products processed by dissolving skim milk powder in water and adding milk fat.

 

Skim milk powder refers to powder produced by removing the water from milk. Products made from skim milk powder are called reconstituted milk; they contain approximately 40–80% raw milk and are filled with purified water, flavorings, and other ingredients. Similarly, products with specific flavors such as strawberry, chocolate, or banana fall under the category of processed milk. Since they are made by adding synthetic flavorings, colorings, and sugar to reconstituted milk, they cannot be considered real milk. To distinguish between fresh milk and processed milk, you must check the ingredients. Real milk is labeled as 100% raw milk, while reconstituted milk is labeled as reconstituted milk.

 

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Outside the real and the fake

It would be hard to tell the difference just by eating out.

 

I even add cheese to my tteokbokki...

Wouldn't it be impossible to verify?