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Why is blue cheese safe to eat?
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Wedge of Roquefort blue cheese with greenish-blue veins, garnished with a sprig of rosemary, on a wooden cheese board with cheese cubes and a knife nearby.
How Is Gorgonzola Cheese Made?
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Wedge of Roquefort blue cheese with greenish-blue veins, garnished with a sprig of rosemary, on a wooden cheese board with cheese cubes and a knife nearby.
Blue cheese Roquefort, a variety of blue cheese, presented with a sprig of rosemary.

Why is blue cheese safe to eat?

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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?

How Is Gorgonzola Cheese Made?
How Is Gorgonzola Cheese Made?Genuine Gorgonzola cheese bears a G printed on its packaging.
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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.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna.