So some cheeses seem to be toxic for you if you eat them when they have mold on them, while others are mainly being consumed when they get moldy. Why is it so that some types of cheese will make you sick, while you can eat others without a problem?
In: Chemistry
So it’s not necessarily the cheese itself that makes you sick, rather the properties of the cheese and the types of mold growing.
Mold spores are all around us and on our food. When a mold spore lands on food it starts to grow little microscopic filaments called mycelia. These are sort of like roots. For very hard cheeses, these roots can’t really penetrate into the cheese that well, so in general you can cut the mold away and eat the cheese with little worry of ingesting any mold. In the case of soft cheese, the roots are able to penetrate much deeper into the cheese and often will remain present in the cheese even if you cut away the visible mold.
Blue cheese – and other cheeses that are sold moldy – is a special example of cheese that you can eat moldy. In the cheese making process, a particular type of mold ([Penicillium roqueforti – a close member to the mold we use to make penicillin](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lgxvz8/eli5_why_can_you_eat_some_types_of_cheese_with/gmuapyb/)) is introduced into the cheese which is safe to eat. This mold actually changes the texture of the cheese as well, making it more creamy. Importantly, the cheese makers also keep a close eye on the cheese during this process to make sure no dangerous molds are growing. Keep in mind, however, that even though it’s safe to eat the mold in blue cheese, you should keep an eye out for any new smells or colors in cheese that’s been in your fridge for too long because that can indicate the presence of harmful molds taking over which may make you sick through the [toxins](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/lgxvz8/eli5_why_can_you_eat_some_types_of_cheese_with/gmu543d/) they release.
Edit: Typos, and a couple of links to other comments for more info.
Edit 2: Since I only briefly said in the last sentence and didn’t explicitly state/people aren’t reading the linked comment: Some molds produce dangerous/toxic byproducts into its surroundings that make us sick when eaten, whereas others do not and are fine to consume. Because you won’t know the type of mold growing on your cheese or whether its harmful it can be dangerous to eat moldy cheese that isn’t sold moldy.
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