cheese

Question

my family and i love your website and have learned much about kashrut and Pesach. Question: I have requested information from various cheese manufacturers about certain cheeses. Some have replied that some of their hard or semi hard cheese is made with no animal base but rather with bicrobiologically produced enzymes. Examples are Kraft American slices, Kraft grated parmesan cheese, and others. I have attempted to copy and paste one of the answers I have received from Kraft: Thanks for visiting our web site. Please note that our comments apply only to products manufactured in the United States. Most of the cheeses we manufacture contain a microbiologically produced coagulating enzyme called chymosin. The process of converting milk into cheese is dependent on coagulating milk through the use of this enzyme. Although our Sharp and Extra Sharp Cheddar cheeses do not contain a coagulating enzyme of animal origin, they may contain animal derived enzymes which assist in flavor and texture development. Other products utilize a microbial rennet which is derived from the growth of pure cultures of bacteria or mold. Examples of our products which contain this type of enzyme include KRAFT Natural Swiss Cheese, KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese. KRAFT Grated Romano Cheese is derived from an animal enzyme. Soft cheeses utilize another method of coagulating milk by the growth of pure cultures of bacteria in the milk and the development of lactic acid. Our cream cheese products, such as PHILADELPHIA BRAND Cream Cheese and Light PHILADELPHIA BRAND Neufchatel Cheese fall into this category. Please add our site, http://www.kraftfoods.com/, to your bookmarks and visit us again soon! ~~TLXEA_9487900~~N ------------------------------------------------------------------ [email hidden] do kraft american cheeses contain animal-derived enzymes or are they microbiological? What about mozzarella cheese? so, may I eat it?