Know chalk from cheese

The crackdown on non-dairy cheese is all over the news. But McDonald's is hardly the only brand passing off a substitute for the real thing. Have you noticed?

- VIR SANGHVI

The cheeseburger is one of America's greatest gastronomic achievements. It has a relatively simple filling: A patty made from minced beef and a slice of processed cheese. It has been taken around the world by such chains as McDonald's.

It is impossible to make an American-style cheeseburger in India. Even before the campaign against beef, McDonald's had decided not to use beef in India out of respect for Hindu sentiments.

But is it also impossible to get a non-beef cheeseburger made with real cheese in India? Over the last week, as the Maharashtra government's regulators have acted against McDonald's for allegedly passing off cheese-less substitutes as the real thing, the suspicion has grown that the cheese in the Indian cheeseburger is not real.

As the news hit the media, McDonald's moved to assert its cheesy credentials. "Myth Busted" it declared on Instagram. "The cheese slice in your favourite burger is milk-based real cheese." And: "We use only real, quality cheese in all our products containing cheese."

Some people worried about the curious construction: "in all our products containing cheese". What about McDonald's Cheese Fries? 

According to industry gossip, in common with other fast-food chains, the cheese flavour in those fries came from cheese that was not 100 per cent dairy. McDonald's made no mention of this dish in its myth-busting post, so it is hard to be sure.