Today everyone is so paranoid about mold and with good reason, but we often forget that there are some molds that actually have a good purpose. Most of us know that mold was a key player in the invention of penicillin, which is one of the greatest discoveries of mankind. It is has been a wonderful addition to the world of medicine and it would be hard to imagine having to live without the benefits that we have from it.



Although we might never wish to have mold growing in our home environment because it has been proven to be toxic and dangerous to our health, there are some places where it is said to be perfectly fine for mold to grow like on certain cheeses, but now there are even questions being asked about that. Some cheeses can have mold only on the outer surfaces and some cheeses have internal molding.

These cheeses have not been pasteurized. This means that they have not been heated to a level that will kill all the bacteria. Hard cheese can have mold growing on the exterior skin. This can be cut off about an inch below and around the mold and then the cheese is pretty safe to eat. Make sure the knife does not come into contact with the rest of the cheese to prevent cross contamination.

Cheeses that are made with mold such as Roquefort, Brie, Gorgonzola, blue, Stilton, or Camembert are supposedly fine to eat. The soft cheeses like the Brie or Camembert should be discarded if mold develops on them that were not an original part of the process. The hard cheeses made with mold like Gorgonzola or Stilton can be trimmed like other hard cheeses.

Some soft cheese and cheese like products such as yogurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, or shredded cheeses that develop mold should be discarded. When shredded cheeses like cheddar have mold in the bag, all the cheeses could be contaminated. These products are not alright to eat if they have mold.

People that have allergies are sometimes advised to only eat processed cheeses and there is some question about whether or not pregnant women should risk eating cheese that have mold inside or out. That is likely a question that should be asked their doctor. People have been eating moldy cheeses for years and years and whether you want to risk being exposed to bacteria or not will be up to you. For those who love to eat the modly cheeses, this could be a difficult decision.