I'm a doctor - this is why you should never cut the mould off your old cheese and eat it Doctors warn against removing mould from food and eating it READ MORE: The everyday foods Aussie have stopped eating due to price hikes By Amanda Bechara Published: 06:46, 26 August 2024 | Updated: 06:46, 26 August 2024 e-mail View comments Cheese is now a 'luxury buy' for many as the cost of living crisis grips Australia, but those who attempt to extend its life by slicing off mould may pay the price. American surgeon Dr Dana Brems has warned against removing visible mould from cheese and eating the rest, even though many have done so for years to save money. While it might be tempting to take a knife to a mouldy wedge of cheddar or brie - there are a few things to keep in mind if you don't want to end up with nausea, vomiting or allergic reactions.
American surgeon Dr Dana Brems has warned against removing visible mould from cheese and eating the rest, even though many have done so for years to save money 'Mould is like an iceberg where there are some bits you can see on top, but deeper is more mould hiding that you can't see with the naked eye,' Dr Brems said. She said those looking to salvage their dairy to distinguish between the softer and the harder varieties of cheese. 'If you have a hard cheese like cheddar, you can cut at least once inch (almost three cm) around and below the mouldy spot.
.. the cheese should be okay to eat because the mould doesn't penetrate as much in these dense cheeses,' she said.
But the medical expert advised that you'll need to wash the knife between slices if you want to avoid any cross contamination issues. She said those looking to salvage their dairy to distinguish between the softer and the harder varieties of cheese Dr Brems said that softer cheeses such as blue cheese, brie, camembert and gorgonzola are much harder to save once any unsightly mould spores appear. 'For softer cheese such as brie or cottage cheese, if you see mould there's no telling how deep it really penetrates,' she said.
'Plus these cheeses are higher in water activity so you can have hydro-bacteria growing along with the mould. 'If you see mould on soft cheese, the whole thing goes right in the trash.' The doctor said that any pre shredded or sliced cheese that had gone mouldy also needed to be disposed of immediately, and not eaten.
Dr Brems said that mould growing on softer cheeses carried a larger risk of causing nausea or vomiting, and that any soft cheese with visible mould needed to be disposed of and not eaten Dr Brems added that if you're immune compromised or allergic to mould it's best not to take any risk with eating cheese that had turned, and to just throw it away. Read More Personal trainer spills little-known detail about shredded cheese - and why she WON'T buy it: 'I thought everyone knew this' Australian food scientist Gary Kennedy agrees with Dr Brems about soft cheeses becoming dangerous once mould forms. 'Mould is like a blue bottle, the bit you can see a the top is okay to touch, but the bits underneath are the poison,' he said.
Dr Kennedy added that it's the same for any soft food such as jam and tomato sauce; it's never safe to remove the mould and just eat the rest. He explained that bread falls into the middle category between soft and hard food. He said if a slice of bread is showing signs of mould - remove a few slices on either side to make sure you've gotten the roots, and the rest should be safe to consume.
Dr Kennedy cautioned that repeated exposure to mould can have similar effects on the body as chemical poisoning, and isn't something to take lightly. Many Europeans and Aussies were outraged that they were being advised to dispose of mouldy cheese. 'This is an entirely American view and not correct.
If the mould is black, red/orange, then yes it’s trash. You can absolutely cut away white, blue, green and yellow mould and it’s fine, if not better,' one cheese monger said. 'In France, we eat a lot of mouldy cheese.
Food Legislation in Europe is also very rigorous and I never heard of a medical case of food poisoning due to mouldy cheese,' another agreed. But Dr Kennedy argued that the mould we have in Australia is different from mould in other parts of the world - and it's not worth messing with. Share or comment on this article: I'm a doctor - this is why you should never cut the mould off your old cheese and eat it e-mail Add comment.
