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Cheeses (other than hard cheeses)

Soft, semi-soft, and fresh cheeses including soft unripened/fresh soft, soft ripened/semi-soft, and cheese made from unpasteurized milk. Excludes hard cheeses.

Last verified: February 2026 against 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart S

Foods on the FTL (16)

Brie
brie cheese
Camembert
camembert cheese
Cottage cheese
cottage
Cream cheese
cream cheese spreadneufchatel
Feta
feta cheesefeta crumbles
Mozzarella (fresh)
fresh mozzarellaburratamozzarella di bufalabuffalo mozzarella
Ricotta
ricotta cheese
Mascarpone
mascarpone cheeseitalian cream cheese
Chevre
goat cheesefresh goat cheesechèvre
Queso fresco
fresh cheesequeso blanco
Paneer
panirindian cheese
Blue cheese
bleu cheesegorgonzolaroquefortstiltondanish blue
Havarti
cream havartidill havarti
Muenster
munster cheese
Taleggio
Fontina
fontina val d'aosta

What's NOT on the FTL

These items are explicitly excluded from the Cheeses (other than hard cheeses) category and do not require FSMA 204 traceability records.

×Hard cheeses (e.g., Parmesan, Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda)
×Shelf-stable processed cheese products
×Frozen cheese products

Required Critical Tracking Events (3)

Each CTE requires specific records to be created and maintained for Cheeses (other than hard cheeses).

Receiving

The act of receiving a food at a facility other than a farm.

Applies to: All entities in the supply chain except farms

Transforming (creating, cooling, packing)

An event that changes the Traceability Lot Code (TLC) of a food, including manufacturing, processing, packing, re-packing, and labeling.

Applies to: Processors, packers, manufacturers

Creating (first TLC assignment)CoolingPacking/Re-packingManufacturing/Processing

Shipping

The act of shipping a food from one location to another.

Applies to: All entities shipping FTL foods

Required Key Data Elements (6)

These data fields must be recorded and maintained for each Critical Tracking Event involving Cheeses (other than hard cheeses).

Traceability Lot Code
Quantity and Unit of Measure
Product Description
Location of origin (growing area)
Date of receipt/shipment
Reference Document Number

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