Calcium, Phosphorus, and Sodium Concentrations
in Cheddar Cheese
ABSTRACT
Commercial Cheddar cheese from 26
cheese plants in 7 midwestern states were
analyzed for their Ca, P, and Na levels.
Thirty-five cheese gave mean values for
Ca of .715% with a range of .606 to
.830%; for P .501% and a range of .442
to .556%; and for Na .65% (NaC1 1.64%)
with a range of .48 to .85% (NaC1 1.22 to
2.16%).
The correlation coefficient for Ca and
P was r=.90, but as Ca concentration de-
creased from the norm by 3 mmol/kg,
P concentration decreased only 2 mmol/
kg. Sodium variation among cheeses indi-
cated a lack of uniformity in industrial
salting practices.
INTRODUCTION
Between 30 and 40 mineral elements are
measurable in cow's milk (9). Most are present
in trace amounts and have little significance for
cheese making. Calcium and P, two of the most
abundant mineral elements in milk, become
concentrated in Cheddar cheese and play a
fundamental role in quality and identity (10,
16, 17).
Cheddar cheese also contains considerable
Na and chloride. Their principal source is
NaC1, which is added directly to curd during
manufacture.
Calcium, P, and NaC1 concentrations may be
controlled within limits in Cheddar cheese. In
industrial practice, cheese Ca and P concentra-
tions are regulated indirectly through control of
acidity. Normally, Ca and P are not measured
Received March 12, 1987.
Accepted September 18, 1987.
1University of Vermont, Department of Animal
Science, Burlington 05405.
1988 J Dairy Sci 71:285-289 285
P. S. K I N D S T E D T 1 and F. V. KOSIKOWSKI
Department of Food Science
Cornell University
Ithaca 14853
during industrial cheese making; therefore, no
direct attempt is made to control their levels.
Theoretically, the NaC1 level in Cheddar
cheese is achieved by adjusting the salting rate.
In practice, m a n y factors make it difficult to
control NaC] at optimum industrial concentra-
tion, including uniformity of NaC1 application,
temperature, pH, moisture, size dimensions
and surface area to mass ratio of milled curd
particles, time and amount of stirring between
salting and pressing, and slow equilibration
between regions of unequal salt concentration
in the finished cheese (6, 7, 8, 20, 27).
Lack of control over such critical variables
result in variation of cheese NaC1 concentra-
tion. Wilster (31) observed that NaC1 concentra-
tions of commercial Cheddar cheese ranged
from .8 to 2.0%. Large variations existed among
commercial Cheddar cheeses manufactured
from a single vat of milk (4, 5, 21) and even
within individual blocks of cheese (4).
It is difficult to assign values or even ranges
of values for Ca, P, Na, and NaC1 that typify
commercial Cheddar cheese. Quantitative infor-
mation on Cheddar, particularly those made in
the United States, is limited. Data compiled
from comparatively recent published reports
are presented (Table 1).
Growing concern over excess Na (30) and
Ca deficiency (26) in the American diet and
renewed interest in the role of CaPO4 in cheese
quality and identity (3, 10, 16, 17) underscore
the need for up-to-date data on cheese mineral
content. In view of this, an analysis during
1985 of Ca, P, Na, and NaC1 in commercial
Cheddar cheese was undertaken.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample Collection
Sample collection was carried out in co-
operation with the Dairy Division, Agricultural
Marketing Service of the USDA. Cheese samples
286 KINDSTEDT AND KOSIKOWSKI

T A B L E 1. S u m m a r y o f r e s u l t s f r o m p u b l i s h e d s u r v e y s o f m i n e r a l c o m p o s i t i o n in c o m m e r c i a l C h e d d a r c h e e s e .

Refer- Loca- No. Concentration

Mineral ence tion Year samples Range "X SD

(%)
Na 3 UK 1984 15 .385--.973 .673 .181
23 USA 1976 24 NA l .620 .021

NaC1 3 UK 1984 15 1.10--2.40 1.80 .40

8 Canada 1955 386 _92--2.95 NA
5 UK 1975 123 1.20--2.86 NA

Ca 3 UK 1984 15 .540--.950 .736 .130

23 USA 1976 33 NA .721 .011

p 3 UK 1984 15 .370--.505 .454 .038

23 USA 1976 23 NA .512 .018

1NA = Not available.

were obtained by USDA cheese graders from sity. Upon receipt, samples were inspected for
surplus cheese warehouse storage facilities of possible temperature abuse and moisture loss
the USDA C o m m o d i t y Credit Corporation. during shipping, then placed in refrigerated
Each USDA grader received a sampling kit storage.
by mail consisting of a small insulated shipping
container, a reusable ice pack, plastic wrapping Sample Analyses
film, masking tape, 170-ml Whirl-Pac bags
(NASCO) with permanently attached and Homogeneous samples were prepared by
labeled identification tags, and instructions. grinding cores at high speed in a Waring blen-
Whirl-Pac bag identification tags contained der. Ground samples were placed in tightly
a questionnaire which was completed by sealed 170-ml Whirl-Pac bags and stored at 4°C
the USDA grader at the time of sample until analysis. Samples were analyzed for Na,
collection. NaC1, Ca, and P by sodium ion electrode and
Graders were instructed to collect 2 "cores" complexometric methods (11, 12, 13, 14).
using a standard 12.7-cm cheese trier from each
RESULTS
block of cheese. Each core was wrapped tightly
in a plastic film and secured with masking tape. Thirty-five commercial Cheddar cheeses
The two wrapped cores were placed into a were collected and analyzed. Samples were
170-ml Whirl-Pac bag and sealed tightly. The from 26 cheese plants located in 7 midwestern
questionnaire on the identification tag was states. Numbers of plants sampled from each
completed with the following information: state were as follows: Wisconsin 13, Minnesota
cheese plant identification; cheese plant loca- 7, South Dakota 2, Indiana 1, Iowa 1, Michi-
tion; date of manufacture; date of sampling; gan 1, Missouri 1. All samples were from 16.8-
grade of cheese; and name of grader. kg blocks and ranged in age from 2 wk to 30
Graders were instructed to collect samples mo.
from widely dispersed geographical regions. None of the samples showed evidence of
Labeled Whirl-Pac bags, containing wrapped temperature abuse during shipping. All samples
core samples, were placed in the insulated were wrapped tightly in plastic film, and no
shipping container along with a frozen ice pack moisture droplets were visible at the core sur-
for shipping. The insulated container was face-plastic film interface.
shipped via overnight express mail to the Mineral analyses of 35 cheeses are sum-
Department of F o o d Science, Cornell Univer- marized in Table 2. Mean Na value was .65 +

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 71, No. 2, 1988

 CALCIUM, PHOSPHORUS, AND SODIUM IN CHEESE 287

TABLE 2. Selected minerals in 35 commercial Ched-

W
dar cheeses manufactured in the United States. 1 ..I
a.8
Concentration
Mineral Range X SD ~.4
0
(%) d2
z
Na .48-.85 .65 .08
NaC1 1.22--2.16 1.64 .21 .600 .sso .7o0 .7so .soo
Ca .606--.830 .715 .046 % CALCIUM
P .442-.556 .501 .022
Figure 2. Frequency distribution of Ca in 35 com-
11985. mercial Cheddar cheeses.

.08% w i t h a r a n g e o f .48 t o .85%. E x p r e s s e d as decrease of 3 mmol/kg f o r each 2 m m o l / k g

NaC1, t h e m e a n value was 1.64 + .21% w i t h a d e c r e a s e in P.
r a n g e o f 1.22 t o 2.16%. T h e m e a n Ca c o n c e n -
t r a t i o n o f 35 samples was .715 + .046% w i t h DISCUSSION
i n d i v i d u a l s a m p l e s ranging f r o m .606 to .830%. Van S l y k e a n d Price (28) a n d Wilster ( 3 1 )
M e a n P level was .501 + .022%, t h e r a n g e b e i n g r e p o r t e d t h a t C h e d d a r cheese is g e n e r a l l y salted
.442 t o .556%. b e t w e e n 1.50 to 1.75% NaC1, w h i c h agrees
F r e q u e n c y d i s t r i b u t i o n s of Na, Ca, a n d P closely w i t h t h e m e a n o f t h e p r e s e n t s u r v e y a n d
are s h o w n ( F i g u r e s 1 t o 3). D i s t r i b u t i o n s o f o f 2 4 cheeses r e p o r t e d a d e c a d e ago (23). How-
Na a n d Ca w e r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y s y m m e t r i c a l . ever, e n o u g h v a r i a t i o n exists t o i n d i c a t e pres-
D i s t r i b u t i o n of P was s k e w e d to t h e right. e n t l y a lack o f u n i f o r m i t y in s o m e i n d u s t r i a l
A l t h o u g h i n d i v i d u a l samples varied w i d e l y in
element concentration, most were clustered
w i t h i n relatively n a r r o w ranges. F o r e x a m p l e , 20
77% fell b e t w e e n .55 t o .75% Na, 77% b e t w e e n
.65 t o .75% Ca, a n d 83% b e t w e e n .48 t o .53%
P. Calcium a n d P levels were h i g h l y c o r r e l a t e d
( r = . 9 0 ) (Figure 4), b u t d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g
cheeses did n o t o c c u r o n a 1:1 m o l a r basis. m
I.U 1 5
R e c a l c u l a t e d as millimoles c a l c i u m per kilo- --I
eL
gram cheese t h e slope o f t h e regression equa-
t i o n (slope = 1.43) s h o w e d an a p p r o x i m a t e Ca
:E
,<
~1o
I,a.
0
laJ
-a
D. 8
O"
z 5

._4

°.2
O
Z
.45 .5s .65 .75 .85 .425 475 525 .STS
% 50DIUM % PHOSPHORUS
Figure 1. Frequency distribution of Na in 35 com- Figure 3. Frequency distribution of P in 35 com-
mercial Cheddar cheeses. mercial Cheddar cheeses.

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 71, No. 2, 1988

288 KINDSTEDT AND KOSIKOWSKI
.800
•O ~O •
..i
0.700 5.t:
•..,I;
600 ° I ! I I I I
425 475 ~2S ~7S
PHOSPHORUS
Figure 4. Relationship between Ca and P levels in
35 commercial Cheddar cheeses.
cheese making. For example, two cheeses
manufactured on the same day at one plant
contained 1.57 and 1.92% NaC1. At another,
two cheeses made within 2 d of each other
contained 1.27 and 2.15% NaC1.
This situation underscores the difficulty that
Cheddar cheese could encounter with quantita-
tive Na declaration on labels. The US FDA
compliance policy stipulates that product Na
content must not exceed the Na value on the
label by more than 20% (25).
Sodium surveillance under FDA regulations
must be conducted using a direct method of
analysis such as atomic absorption or atomic
emission (24), but these methods are impracti-
cal for all but the largest industrial cheese pro-
ducers. The sodium ion electrode method used
in the present study provides an accurate alter-
native for direct Na measurement in cheese as
results agree with atomic absorption (11, 14).
The high ratio of P to Ca in cheese contain-
ing reduced levels of these two elements ap-
pears to be a direct consequence of their rela-
tive losses to whey with increasing acid. Such
acid development, particularly before drainage,
is the principal factor determining cheese
mineral composition. Several investigators (1,
18, 19) reported that in cheeses, Ca was more
rapidly lost to the whey than P as whey pH
decreased. Kindstedt (10) found in Mozzarella
Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 71, No. 2, 1988
cheese that Ca losses to whey at drainage in-
creased by approximately 2 mmol/kg of whey
for each 1 mmol/kg increase in P loss. Whey
pH at drainage varied from 6.55 to 5.65, in
this experiment, whereas other manufacturing
parameters were held constant. Calcium is more
mobile than P under high acid conditions. As a
result, P relative to Ca tends to increase as
overall cheese mineral content decreases.
Recently, a test utilizing this principle to detect
adulteration in graded cheese was reported
(22).
The relatively slow rate of P loss with in-
creasing whey acidity probably is due to the
high proportion of covalently bonded phos-
phate in the casein micelle. Almost 40% of
phosphate in casein micelles is esterified to a s l -
caseins (8 phosphate residues per molecule),
as2-caseins (11 phosphate residues per mole-
cule), 3-caseins (5 phosphate residues per
molecule), and K-caseins (1 phosphate residue
per molecule), and thus, is not solubilized with
decreasing whey pH (29). In contrast, Ca in
casein micelles exists completely in ionic com-
bination with charged residues of casein,
citrate, and esterified and nonesterified phos-
phate (29). Therefore, Ca is much more sus-
ceptible to solubilization than P as whey pH
decreases, hence, its greater mobility. The high
molecular weight of phosphate ion relative to
Ca also may contribute to lower P mobility.
Excessive CaPO4 loss during Cheddar cheese
manufacture results in significant product
deterioration (1, 2, 15). Thus, a strong incen-
tive should exist to maintain cheese CaPO4
above quality loss levels. According to Law-
rence and Gilles (15), Ca in Cheddar cheese
below approximately .68% generally resulted in
quality loss. Of our samples, 14% fell below
.68%, indicating excessive acid production.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Appreciation is expressed to R. Simerad and
his staff of graders, USDA, for obtaining the
necessary samples.
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Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 71, No. 2, 1988