The Budget Savvy Travelers (@thebstravelers)

Many Americans Are Ditching Cheese After Discovering Pfizer’s Enzyme Is in ~90% of It 🧀 Many people are rethinking their grocery choices after learning that roughly 90% of cheese in the US contains Fermentation-Produced Chymosin (FPC) — a genetically engineered enzyme originally developed by Pfizer in 1990. FPC is a lab-made version of rennet used to make cheese. Because it’s classified as a “processing aid,” manufacturers don’t have to label it. Pfizer later sold the division, but the enzyme is still widely used today. The recent viral attention has led to growing numbers of people actively avoiding conventional cheese and seeking out alternatives with traditional animal rennet (or going dairy-free). This Parmigiano Reggiano at Whole Foods (pictured below!) is an imported Italian PDO cheese with the rind stamped "Parmigiano Reggiano." It is made with traditional calf (animal) rennet, not vegetarian rennet.