Abstract: The invention generally relates to a reduced-fat cheese product and a method for producing such product. More specifically, this invention relates to reduced-fat, low-fat or fat-free natural shredded cheese products that do not exhibit the characteristics of stickiness and rapid skin formation upon melting which are normally associated with such cheeses. The cheese product of the invention, which has very low levels of fat, provides the taste and mouthfeel associated with full-fat cheeses. The fat content of shredded cheese is minimized by first producing an essentially fat-free natural cheese product and then applying a small amount of fat to the surface of the cheese in its shredded form. The amount of fat added can be controlled according to whether a reduced-fat, low-fat, or fat-free cheese is desired.