FDA is clarifying a statement that sent cheesemakers into a panic earlier this year implying the government body would take steps to end the century-old practice of using wooden boards to age cheese.
“To be clear, we have not and are not prohibiting or banning the long-standing practice of using wood shelving in artisanal cheese,” read a letter from FDA. “Nor does the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) require any such action. Reports to the contrary are not accurate.”