Is cheese considered a raw food?

Here's why:

* Pasteurization: Most commercially produced cheeses are pasteurized, which means they've been heated to a temperature that kills harmful bacteria.

* Culturing: Cheesemaking involves adding cultures of bacteria and mold to milk, which helps to transform it into cheese. This process involves controlled fermentation, not simply letting the milk sit raw.

* Aging: Many cheeses undergo aging, which further alters their composition and texture. This process involves controlled environments and often involves additional bacteria and molds.

Exceptions:

While most cheese is not raw, there are some varieties that are made with unpasteurized milk and are considered raw. These cheeses are often labeled as "raw milk cheese" and may have specific regulations depending on where they are made and sold. They are generally considered to be more risky, as they could potentially carry harmful bacteria.

To be considered a raw food, something must be unprocessed and uncooked. While cheese might not be cooked in the traditional sense, it undergoes numerous processing steps that make it ineligible for the "raw food" label.