Two Companies Get Probation, Fine Over Mislabeling Cheese

Two Pennsylvania cheese businesses are being punished for selling grated Swiss and mozzarella cheeses that were fraudulently represented as Parmesan and Romano.

A federal judge sentenced Universal Cheese & Drying and International Packing to three years on probation and ordered them to pay $500,000 for their convictions related to the cheese mislabeling.

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Acting U.S. Attorney Soo Song said Friday the companies packaged and sold cheese under various labels at the Castle Cheese facility in Slippery Rock. They've ceased operations.

In October, a former executive with the businesses was sentenced to three years on probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

Although federal inspection reports have raised questions about whether the cheeses had too much cellulose — a filler made from wood pulp — that wasn't an issue in the case.