So. You may have noticed that American cheese is marketed as "cheese food" or "cheese product", if the manufacturer even uses "cheese" in the marketing.

Despite popular belief, this isn't because it's not actually cheese. It's because legally, raw/unprocessed cheese isn't the same as pasteurized and processed cheese, and legally, American cheese is a blend of at least two kinds of cheese, and is typically pasteurized.

Eat all the American cheese you want. It's cheese.