# 2025-11209: Cheese With Olive Oil? FDA Lets Bongards Keep Testing Its Rule-Bending Slices

2025-11209, Cheese Products Deviating From Standard of Identity; Temporary Permit for Market Testing, is a Federal Register notice from Health and Human Services Department, Food and Drug Administration published 2025-06-18, effective 2025-06-13; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-03).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11209
- As of: 2026-11-03
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2025-11209
- Title: Cheese Products Deviating From Standard of Identity; Temporary Permit for Market Testing
- Type: Notice
- Agencies: Health and Human Services Department; Food and Drug Administration
- Citation: 90 FR 26055
- Published: 2025-06-18
- Effective: 2025-06-13
- Comments close: not stated
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: none
- Last updated: 2026-11-03

## In one line

Cheese With Olive Oil? FDA Lets Bongards Keep Testing Its Rule-Bending Slices

## Summary

The FDA is letting Bongards' Creameries keep testing a special cheese that uses extra virgin olive oil to stop slices from sticking, even though it breaks the usual cheese rules. They've updated the permit to focus on one type of cheese and extended the testing period while they gather feedback and decide if the cheese rules should change. Other cheese makers can join in, and the permit lasts until a final decision is made or 30 days after a denial.

## Abstract

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing an amendment to the temporary permit issued to Bongards' Creameries to market test pasteurized process cheese deviating from the standard of identity for these cheeses by using extra virgin olive oil as the slice anti-sticking agent. We are also announcing an extension to this permit, which allows Bongards' Creameries to continue to evaluate commercial viability of the product and to collect data on consumer acceptance of the product in support of a petition to amend the standard of identity. We invite other interested parties to participate in the market test.

## Effects PRIA read

- Permit narrowed to one cheese standard: benefit, medium. The FDA amended Bongards' temporary permit so it may market test products that deviate only from the pasteurized process cheese standard at 21 CFR 133.169. This change follows Bongards' October 14, 2024 request to limit the permit to that single standard.
- Permit extended to allow up to 20 million pounds: benefit, high. The FDA extended Bongards' permit to allow temporary marketing of a maximum of 20 million pounds (9.09 million kilograms) of pasteurized process cheese made with extra virgin olive oil as the slice anti-sticking agent. The permit now expires on either the effective date of a final rule adopting the…
- Other firms invited to join market test: benefit, low. The FDA invites other companies to participate in the extended market test under the same permit conditions. Interested persons must notify FDA of their intent and provide the products to be tested, area of distribution, amount to be distributed, and draft labels.
- Test products must carry nutrition and ingredient labels: benefit, low. Products in the market test must use labeling that includes nutrition information in accordance with 21 CFR 101.9 and must declare all ingredients as required by 21 CFR part 101. You may see pasteurized process cheese slices made with extra virgin olive oil available during the test period under th…

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## Sources
- [2025-11209 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/18/2025-11209/cheese-products-deviating-from-standard-of-identity-temporary-permit-for-market-testing)
- [2025-11209 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-18/pdf/2025-11209.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2025-11208, Yogurt Products Deviating From Standard of Identity; Temporary Permit for Marke…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11208)
- [Next: 2025-11210, Revised Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the O…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11210)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-11209 (as of 2026-11-03).