Would you like smaller holes in your Swiss cheese?

Americans eat an average of 30 pounds of cheese per year, but just one pound of that is Swiss

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ever wonder who measures the holes in an average slice of Swiss cheese? Believe it or not, someone does.

And now the U.S. Department of Agriculture is thinking about changing the rules to allow for smaller cheesy cavities. Wisconsin dairy manufacturers asked for a relaxation of the current standard, which calls for holes to measure between 11- and 13/16ths of an inch to qualify as "grade A."

The larger holes can wreak havoc in a slicer, say the cheese whizzes.

"It gets hung up in the machine," explains Gordon Brown, spokesman for the National Cheese Institute. "When a slicer is going that fast, there's a lot of waste, a lot of shreds that come falling out of the sides of the machine -- literally, falls on the floor and you've got to throw it away."

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USDA monitors hole diameter and classifies Swiss cheese (an Emmental-style cheese) as fruity, nutty, bitter, weedy, gassy and even as "frog mouth." The new proposed standards would alter cheese aperture to 3/8ths of an inch.

"The difference between the America palate and the European palate, if you will, is that we eat more sandwiches," says Kathleen Merrigan, an administrator with the Agricultural Marketing Service, which is proposing the rule changes. "What this does is help the industry in marketing their cheese when you're really thinking about Swiss cheese slices."

Such are the cares that cloud cheese makers' minds.

Still, smaller holes may mean bigger profits for those cheese makers, who will be able to market a larger variety of cheeses as Grade A sandwich ready.

Per capita, people in the United States eat an average of 30 pounds of cheese per year. Just one pound of that is Swiss.

While marketers are hoping shrinking holes lead to expanding sales, some shoppers aren't sure it really makes a difference.

"Well, it depends on how much cheese you want in every bite," figures Marcia Horting.

"It's the same piece of cheese, same quality it's always been," says Bradley Legreid, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association. "There will be no difference in taste, texture, feel -- nothing like that."

What there will be are pages and pages of adjusted government cheese standards. And, perhaps, more cheese on your ham and rye.

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Agriculture Marketing Service - United States Department of Agriculture Home Page
Cheese information
Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association
International Dairy Foods Association (National Cheese Institute parent organization)

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