# The Dangers of Moldy Cheese **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangers-of-moldy-cheese/146828 "2003-01-05T22:14:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bc8723/32.png) [@Jude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jude)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangers-of-moldy-cheese/146828/1 "2003-01-05T22:14:53Z")
I just tossed out a large block of cheddar because it was covered in greenish mold. My question is, had I decided to eat the cheese, would i have suffered any negative health consequences as a result of the mold? Do any varieties of toxic mold grow on cheese? Did I overreact by throwing my cheese away rather than carving off the moldy parts and saving the good stuff underneath? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangers-of-moldy-cheese/146828/2 "2003-01-05T22:22:03Z")
[Moldy cheese - what should you do with it?](http://www.oda.state.or.us/fsd/consumer_info/moldy_cheese.html) ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangers-of-moldy-cheese/146828/3 "2003-01-05T22:26:13Z")
The cheese in our refrigerator that molds tastes like Roquefort (this will infuriate the Roquefort cheese makers) to me. I call it “green cheese” and use it up, mold and all. That might have been one of the original reasons to make cheese. It is one of the few things, aged steak is another, that gets better with mold. ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangers-of-moldy-cheese/146828/4 "2003-01-05T22:31:13Z")
If it was covered in it. Maybe tossing it out is advisable. When there are spots of mold, I just cut them off. Personally, I have found that the mold tends to only be on the dried out surface. The cheese deeper inside the block is still good. I have yet to read the above link, lest I get swooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2003, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-dangers-of-moldy-cheese/146828/5 "2003-01-05T23:00:22Z")
Fear Itself’s cite appears to suffer from self-wooshage with their walkthough of the questions which should be asked. The way I parse it, they’re telling us to keep and trim small bits of cheese that are extremely mold encrusted, but toss the large mold encrusted cheeses; which makes no sense. This is likely what they mean: [ul] [li]Keep cheese in the refrigerator.[/li][li]If a small bit of cheese is very moldy, toss it.[/li][li]If a large bit of cheese has mold, trim off 1/4 to 1/2 inch under the mold.[/li][li]If milk spoils in your refrigerator, the fridge is likely not cold enough for safe cheese storage, so any moldy cheese should be tossed.[/li][/ul] I’ve followed these guidelines for years, eaten plenty of moldy cheese, and have yet to be done in by it. It pays to be pickier about soft cheeses. They may be contaminated with the bacteria [_Listeria monocytogenes_](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/listeriosis_g.htm), which kills ~500 people a year in the U.S. alone.