Why is blue cheese safe to eat?

Stilton. Roquefort. Gorgonzola. These are just some of the varieties of blue cheese known for their sharp, piquant flavor—a flavor that is produced by mold that has grown in the cheese. But isn’t mold dangerous? If so, why is blue cheese safe to eat?

Some molds are indeed toxic and dangerous to consume, but many are not. The mold used to create blue cheese is safe to eat because the specific Penicillium mold strains used are generally nontoxic. These molds, which create the cheese’s distinctive bluish or greenish marbling, generate little to no mycotoxins, meaning they do not produce harmful toxins at a level high enough to be a danger. Penicillium roqueforti is a common mold used in the production of blue cheese.