Processed Cheese & Cream Cheese (Tins, Slices, Spreads & Bulk Cream Cheese)

Shelf-stable processed cheese in tins, slices and spreads, and cream cheese in bulk packs for bakery and foodservice

Processed cheese is made, not ripened: the US standard defines pasteurized process cheese as one or more cheeses comminuted and mixed, with the aid of heat and an emulsifying agent, into a homogeneous plastic mass (21 CFR 133.169), holds moisture at 43% maximum and milkfat at 47% of the solids minimum for most varieties, allows emulsifying salts such as sodium citrate and sodium phosphates up to 3% of the weight, and requires heating to at least 150 °F (65.6 °C) for at least 30 seconds. The GCC Guide for Control on Imported Foods lists GSO 160 for processed cheese and spreadable processed cheese and GSO 182 for processed cheese with vegetable oils as separate standards. The shelf-stable format is the can: one European maker fills processed cheese into 113 g and 340 g cans produced mainly for (sub)tropical countries, and another lists processed cheddar in 56 g, 113 g, 200 g and 340 g cans with a 24-month shelf life stored at 0-25 °C, packed 24 or 36 to a case. Slices, stacked for burgers and sandwiches, and spreadable processed cheese complete the range. Cream cheese is a different product on a different customs line: Codex CXS 275-1973 defines it as a soft, spreadable, unripened cheese with milkfat in dry matter of 25% minimum against a 60-70% reference level, moisture on a fat-free basis of 67% minimum and dry matter of 22% minimum, and US rules require 33% milkfat minimum and 55% moisture maximum with stabilizers up to 0.5% (21 CFR 133.133). Processed cheese is HS 0406.30; cream cheese, as a fresh cheese, is HS 0406.10. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 0406.30 total USD 3.57 billion from 91 reporters; leading exporters include Germany at USD 553 million and 110,000 MT, France at USD 360 million, Saudi Arabia at USD 261 million, Austria at USD 232 million, Belgium at USD 215 million, Poland at USD 203 million, New Zealand at USD 177 million, the USA at USD 136 million and the Netherlands at USD 108 million, with Australia and Egypt at USD 82 million each.

The buyer is an importer-distributor or wholesaler supplying supermarkets and traditional trade, a burger or sandwich chain buying slices, a bakery buying cream cheese in bulk for cheesecake, fillings and frostings, or a repacker. Comtrade 2024 import declarations under HS 0406.30 show Saudi Arabia as the largest importer at USD 410 million and 96,000 MT, ahead of the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Australia, China and Oman at USD 115 million and 30,000 MT, with Lebanon at USD 44 million, Egypt at USD 25 million and Jordan at USD 11 million. Declared flows to West Africa are small: France reported processed cheese exports of USD 0.9 million to Côte d'Ivoire and USD 0.8 million to Senegal in 2024. Bulk cream cheese is sold chilled: one dairy co-operative's foodservice cream cheese comes in 1 kg, 5 kg and 20 kg packs kept at 4 °C with a 12-month unopened life, and one German maker's cream cheese in 10 kg buckets stored at 4-6 °C with at least 90 days' life on delivery. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers processed cheese and cream cheese from manufacturers in Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Egypt, in the maker's brand or the buyer's private label, against the manufacturer's specification and certificate of analysis. Halal markets name the coagulant of the base cheese and any animal-derived ingredient, such as gelatine or enzymes, and specify halal-certified sources for them on the halal certificate. For Saudi Arabia the exporter is registered with the SFDA as a foreign establishment, the product is registered through the importer's SFDA account, labels are in Arabic to GSO 9 and expiry dates follow GSO 150, and the GCC Guide requires an original health certificate from the origin's competent authority for every consignment. Tins move by the carton within the storage range on the specification and cream cheese in reefers at its chilled temperature, on FOB, CFR and CIF terms; minimum runs, including private-label runs, are confirmed per product and pack. Send the product, pack size, fat, brand or private label, the monthly volume and the destination port.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.