The Tillamook Cheese Controversy

Of all the reasons to call for a boycott, this Tillamook thing is just about the most colossally ridiculous. The gullible are falling for it due to blatant misinformation spread by fearmongers taking advantage of people’s prejudice and ignorance.

If you’re going to boycott Tillamook cheese, then be sure you also boycott fresh fruits and vegetables, dry beans, rice, and most other single ingredient pantry staples, since those are also Halal even though they don’t have a seal saying so.

Kosher and Halal don’t share exactly the same rules, but are extremely similar. Both require that certain unclean ingredients are not used- many of the same ingredients you’re already trying to avoid if you’re trying to maintain a healthy diet. Both also demand high standards of cleanliness in food processing facilities. One of the most significant differences between the two is that Halal doesn’t not allow alcohol as an ingredient, and Kosher does.

I, for one, am always pleased to see one or both seals on my food, because it means I’m getting a cleaner product than many of the alternatives. When you consider that food recalls are up 400% since the current admin fired most of the food inspectors, I figure it’s more important than ever to watch for labels like Halal and Kosher on any kind of processed foods.

Christians have been buying foods with the Kosher seal for 90 years without a second thought. Has Kosher forced anyone to turn Jewish? Has Judaism taken over the country because grocery stores carry Kosher foods?

Here’s the kicker: a great many foods, including many Tillamook cheeses, are both Kosher and Halal. If Halal certification really did require sacrificing animals to Allah, as many nitwits are claiming, the Jewish community would reject such foods from their own certification, which means there would be no foods that are both Kosher and Halal. The fact that Jews do not consider a food unclean when it has a Halal symbol next to their Kosher symbol should convince anyone that Halal does not make a food undesirable.

What Is Halal?

Halal is an Arabic word meaning “permissible”. Foods and beverages that are Halal must comply with Islamic dietary laws. Halal meat must also meet all federal and/or state meat inspection laws before it can be sold.

In the United States, the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America delivers halal certifications.

All foods are considered halal except the following:

Swine/Pork and its by-products
Animals not properly slaughtered according to Islamic rules, or dead before slaughtering
Enzymes that are animal derived, including rennet.
Alcoholic drinks and intoxicants
Carnivorous animals and birds of prey
Blood and blood by-products
Ingredients/by-products derived from insects.
Foods contaminated with any materials from above categories

Foods containing ingredients such as gelatin, enzymes, emulsifiers, and flavors are questionable because they may be derived from forbidden sources. A great many of these are absent from Halal-certified foods.

The Truth About Cheese

Tillamook Cheese is produced by the Tillamook County Creamery Association, a farmer-owned co-op founded in 1909.

In 2016, Tillamook began using fermentation-produced chymosin (FPC)—a type of fermentation-produced rennet, for most of their cheeses, which is inherently vegetarian, and meets both Kosher and Halal ingredient guidelines.

Tillamook is far from unique. About 90% of all commercial cheeses produced in the United States use FPC, meaning that most of them qualify for both Kosher and Halal certification. The other 10% includes some traditional, artisanal, or specialty cheeses (such as certain Italian-style or European PDO cheeses), which still intentionally use animal-derived rennet from calves, sheep, or goats.

Although most cheeses use FPC, they still must undergo an official audit of all ingredients, cultures, and processing lines from a certified body to officially bear a Kosher or Halal label.

About the Tillamook County Creamery Association

The TCCA was founded was founded in Tillamook, Oregon by ten independent dairies in 1909. Today, more than 80 farms comprise the cooperative. The co-op employs about 900 workers.

The TCCA has six Stewardship Commitments: Thriving Farms, Healthful Cows, Enduring Ecosystems, Inspired Consumers, Fulfilled Employees and Enriched Communities. These six commitments guide them and ensure everything they do is underpinned by their values. The Tillamook County Creamery Association Transparent Disclosure gives more info.

Over the decades, the coop has expanded their offerings from milk and butter to include ice cream, cream cheese spreads, yogurt and sour cream. The latest addition to their lineup is frozen Mac & Cheese dinners and pizza.

Annual revenues have risen exponentially since it’s founding, and sales have reached $1.2B annually.

Last year, an ice cream-only plant was opened in Decatur, Illinois. It was the company’s first plant outside Oregon.

In 2024, Shannon Lourenzo, Farmer-Owner and Member of TCCA Board of Directors, stated the following in an interview with The Other Oregon magazine: