Development of a Rat Model to Test the Nutritional Equivalency of Traditional vs Fabricated Foods: Cheddar Cheese vs Fabricated Cheddar Cheese

Abstract

ABSTRACTBased on the Food & Drug Administration's proposed 1978 standards for “nutritional equivalency,” we have developed a biological assay designed to test the “nutritional equivalency” of traditional vs fabricated foods using cheddar cheese and fabricated cheddar cheese as examples. Diets were formulated that lacked the FDA proposed vitamin and mineral requirements (riboflavin, vitamins B‐12 and A, calcium, phosphorus, zinc) for cheese substitutes. By adding traditional or fabricated cheddar cheese to such diets, we were able to compare the overall presence and bioavailability of the vitamins/minerals required for nutritional equivalency. Throughout the 28 day test, the fabricated cheddar cheese did not support the growth of male Sprague‐Dawley rats as well as cheddar cheese did.