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The Daily Insight

What causes mold on cheese?

Author

Matthew Barrera

Published Apr 08, 2026

What causes mold on cheese?

The flavor of cheese constantly evolves as it ages, even after you bring it home. Very cold temperatures will stall its flavor development, while too much heat or humidity will encourage bacterial growth, leading to mold.

Can you live in a house with mold?

The CDC, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warns about the dangers of living with mold in the home: Respiratory tract symptoms that include coughing, wheezing, and swelling of the throat. Those who have asthma and allergy problems are especially at risk.

How does Mold grow on a piece of cheese?

And if one spore makes it onto a piece of cheese, it can begin to reproduce rapidly and feed off of the cheese. The amount of mold that grows on cheese depends on the type of cheese as well. There are soft, semi soft, semi hard or hard cheeses produced, and the softer the cheese, the quicker the chances it can grow mold.

Is it OK to eat cheese with mould on it?

But the mould that grows on the cut surface of a neglected piece of cheese is different from the moulds that grow on the outside of cheese. Where there’s mould growing on a cut surface, the mould should be cut off, or the cheese discarded. In other words: mould on cheese rind is usually good, mould on cut surfaces of cheese is not good.

How big should you cut off moldy cheese?

Cut off at least 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) around and below the moldy spot. Be sure to keep the knife out of the mold, so it doesn’t contaminate other parts of the cheese.

What kind of bacteria can grow in cheese?

With these cheeses, the mold can send threads throughout the cheese — contaminating more than you see. In addition, harmful bacteria, such as listeria, brucella, salmonella and E. coli, can grow along with the mold. Mold generally can’t penetrate far into hard and semisoft cheeses,…

Is mold on cheese bad for You?

According to the Mayo Clinic, if you were to eat a soft cheese with mold, you increase the risk of being exposed to foodborne pathogens such as listeria, salmonella, and E. coli that grow along with the mold. So always make sure you’re taking note of what type of cheese you’re eating!

Is it safe to eat mold on cheese?

It usually is safe to eat moldy cheese — but there’s a caveat. It really depends on the type of cheese and your individual health. There are certain molds that are used to make cheeses, like Roquefort , bleu cheese, Brie, Camembert and Gorgonzola. These particular cheeses are perfectly safe to eat,…

What does Cheese grow mold the quickest?

In keeping with this, high moisture cheeses will generally grow mold faster, so very hard cheeses like parmesan will take a long time to mold, cheddars will be faster, mozzarella faster still, and ricotta or cottage cheese fastest of all. Now this assumes pH differences between these cheeses do not play a role, but in reality they might.

What causes mold to grow on cheese?

Mold grows on cheese because there is a lot of nutrition there for it to grow. There is a trick to keeping the mold off the cheese, and this is to prevent the cheese from being exposed to air. In some cases this is done by painting the cheese with wax.