@jq
I think you shouldn't take the plastic part literally here. It's more like that it looks like plastic and kind of tastes like it too to somewhat cultured taste buds. It only starts to have somewhat an okay-ish taste when heated up a bit, since they also feel less like plastic by that point.
(Yes I've lived in USA for 4 years.. I missed my Gouda and Edam terribly much in that time. 😋 )