Course:FNH200/Assignments/2026/Philadelphia CreamCheese

Group 30: Philadelphia Cream Cheese vs. Light Cream Cheese.

Brief Introduction

This project compares Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese and Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese, two cream cheese products widely available in Canada. Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese is a reduced-fat alternative to the Original product. By comparing their ingredient lists, food additives, nutritional composition, and labels, we can examine how reducing fat affects product formulation while maintaining a similar texture, flavour, and functionality. We also evaluate whether both products meet Canadian food labelling requirements.

Product Photos

Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese	Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese

Original Cream Cheese Nutrition Facts

Light Cream Cheese Nutrition Facts

Ingredient lists

1. Type out the lists of ingredients
2. Identify fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used, if there is any
3. Explain the roles of fat substitutes, sugar substitutes, and/or additives used in terms of the functional properties they contribute to the product
4. Compare and contrast the lists of the two products and explain differences

Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese Ingredients

• Milk
• Cream
• Modified milk ingredients
• Salt
• Bacterial culture
• Lactic acid
• Guar gum and/or carob bean gum
• Potassium sorbate

The Original Cream Cheese contains both milk and cream, which provide the majority of the product's fat. The creamy texture is achieved primarily through milk fat rather than fat substitutes.

Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese Ingredients

• Modified milk ingredients
• Salt
• Bacterial culture
• Lactic acid
• Carob bean gum
• Potassium sorbate

• Sorbic acid* (*may be omitted)

The Light Cream Cheese contains modified milk ingredients instead of cream, resulting in a lower fat content. To maintain a smooth and creamy texture despite having less fat, stabilizers are used.

Comparison of the Ingredient Lists

The two products share many of the same ingredients, including modified milk ingredients, salt, bacterial culture, lactic acid, and potassium sorbate, because both are manufactured using similar dairy processing methods.

The primary difference is that the Original Cream Cheese contains milk and cream, whereas the Light Cream Cheese replaces cream with modified milk ingredients, reducing the fat content. The Light product also relies on carob bean gum to maintain a creamy consistency despite containing less fat.

The Original product contains guar gum and/or carob bean gum, while the Light product specifically lists carob bean gum and may also contain sorbic acid as an additional preservative.

Compared with the Original Cream Cheese, the Light version contains 10 fewer calories, 1.5 g less fat, and 1 g less saturated fat per serving. It also provides slightly more protein while maintaining the same amount of sugar. These nutritional differences reflect the reduced-fat formulation of the Light product.

Labels (1 points)

1. Provide detailed description of the information found on the labels
2. Indicate whether the information complies with the regulatory requirements as outlined in Lesson 04.

Both Philadelphia Original Cream Cheese and Philadelphia Light Cream Cheese include the mandatory information required for prepackaged foods sold in Canada.

The labels contain:

• Product name
• Brand name (Philadelphia)
• Net quantity
• Nutrition Facts table
• Ingredient list in descending order by weight
• Allergen information (milk)
• Storage instructions (Keep Refrigerated)
• Best-before date
• Manufacturer information
• Bilingual labelling (English and French)

Personal Choice (5 points)

Please submit your individual component of this assignment on Canvas to protect your privacy and your personal opinion

References

Please use the Wikipedia reference style. Provide a citation for every sentence, statement, thought, or bit of data not your own, giving the author, year, AND page.

Note: Before writing your wiki article on the UBC Wiki, it may be helpful to review the tips in Wikipedia: Writing better articles.

This Food Science resource was created by Course:FNH200.