01/12/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14SytmYYzsr/
🚨 A recent article from the Daily Mail has reignited debate about a practice that's been standard in the dairy industry for over three decades: the use of fermentation-produced chymosin (FPC), a genetically engineered enzyme originally developed by Pfizer, in roughly 90% of cheese produced in North America.
Traditional rennet, sourced from the stomachs of young calves, has long been the classic coagulant in cheesemaking.
But with cheese consumption in the U.S. now surpassing 40 pounds per person annually, an alternative became essential for scalability, consistency, and cost.
In 1990, Pfizer scientists isolated the gene for chymosin—the key enzyme in rennet—and inserted it into microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, or mold.
These microbes are fermented in industrial tanks to produce chymosin that's chemically identical to the natural form, often yielding up to 1% more cheese from the same milk volume, without animal sourcing.
Pfizer later sold this technology to Chr. Hansen in 1996, and the company remains a primary supplier today.
This enzyme enables many commercial cheeses—cheddar, mozzarella, processed varieties—to qualify as vegetarian, kosher, or halal when no other animal ingredients are involved.
Industry estimates from sources like the American Cheese Society confirm its dominance in the market.
The FDA granted FPC Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status, a designation that has drawn sharp criticism as a regulatory loophole.
Under the current system, companies can self-determine that a substance is GRAS based on their own safety evaluations, often without mandatory FDA notification or full pre-market review—unlike other food additives.
For FPC, approval rested partly on a 90-day rat feeding study, with no requirement for longer-term human studies due to its claimed equivalence to traditional rennet.
Critics, including former FDA officials, have long argued this self-regulatory approach lacks sufficient oversight; one former Deputy Commissioner for Foods stated, "We simply do not have the information to vouch for the safety of many of these chemicals."
Recent developments in 2025, including directives from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to explore eliminating the self-affirmed GRAS pathway, underscore growing calls to close this loophole and mandate greater transparency and review.
Labeling remains a major point of frustration.
In the U.S., FPC typically appears on packages only as “enzymes,” “microbial rennet,” or “non-animal rennet”—with no disclosure of its genetically engineered origin—because FDA guidance treats it as a processing aid comparable to traditional rennet, exempting it from GMO-specific labeling.
For consumers who want to avoid FPC, reliable choices include USDA-certified organic cheeses (which prohibit it), artisan or specialty products clearly labeled with “animal rennet” or “traditional rennet,” and fresh varieties like cottage cheese, cream cheese, or paneer that usually require no rennet at all.
This ongoing conversation reflects deeper concerns about transparency in our food system, corporate influence on regulations, and the right to make informed choices.
Many share the view that the GRAS framework has allowed biotech-derived ingredients into everyday products with insufficient independent scrutiny.
🔗 https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-15439443/cheese-Pfizers-ingredient-dairy-products.html
