Is Cheez Whiz really one step away from plastic?

Brittany, Kyle, Suzy, Nicole

- Milk and Part-Skim Milk- Water- Whey- Milkfat - Sodium Phosphate - < 2% Of Dried Corn Syrup - Salt - Worcestershire Sauce- Natural Preservative - Annatto (Coloring) - Oleoresin Paprika - Enzymes

• According to Kraft foods, Cheez Whiz is considered a “processed cheese sauce.”

• Made of scrap trimmings of natural cheddar blended and heated together with salt, preservatives and color.

• Kraft has withheld information for proprietary reasons leading us to believe there is more to Cheez Whiz to “add personality”…

Traditional:

•Butter

•Skim/ Whole Milk Powder

•Evaporated Milk

•Cheese

•Yogurt

Non Traditional:

•Whey Powder,

•Whey Protein Concentrate and Milk Protein Concentrate

•Lactose

Proteins

•Casein, albumin, and globulin

•Plant oils

•Fossil fuels

•Heterochain polymers: Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulfur

•Long Carbon chains

• Milk is simply saturated fat, protein, lactose, and vitamins and minerals including vitamin C and calcium.

• The specific composition differs between species.

• During the cheese making process, most of the lactose is removed when the protein and milkfat is congealed.

• Milkfat is a sugar molecule surrounded by a lipid membrane; the composition of the cheese depends on the type of milk used and the method of production.

• Plastic: A material that can be heated and molded so that it keeps its molded shape after it cools. We consider plastics to be made of long chains (polymers) consisting of small molecules (proteins).•A protein called casein makes up about 80% of the total proteins in cow’s milk, and is also a main ingredient in cheese/ Cheez Whiz.•There is an experiment in which milk is polymerized to a “natural plastic” similar to those synthetic plastics in the store. It involves precipitating out the casein by adding vinegar (an acid) and heat. •This concept can be applied to Cheez Whiz, so if you just consider natural plastics, Cheez Whiz is indeed only one step away from plastic!•Examples of natural plastics:

• Silk from silkworms• Latex/ rubber from the bark of certain trees

Plausible