"The microbes responsible for food poisoning are invisible to the naked eye. This does not mean that the cheese will be tasty."
"As a general rule of thumb, the less moisture in the cheese, the less impact the spot will have, and the easier it will be to cut around,"
"So for your firmer cheeses like cheddar, cut away. If the cheese is soft like a Brie, it is usually better to just discard."
"Pink, blue, green - from seafoam to coral - cheese can host a world of colorful microbes. The question is were these intended or encouraged by the cheesemaker or affineur, or have they shown up from over aging or improper storage?"
Average American cheese consumption exceeds 40.5 pounds annually, making proper storage and spoilage awareness important. Visible surface changes on cheese are rarely directly harmful because food-poisoning microbes are microscopic and not visible. Firm cheeses with low moisture can often be salvaged by cutting away discolored areas, while soft, high-moisture cheeses like Brie should generally be discarded if discoloration appears. Cheese can display a wide range of colors due to different microbes; such coloration may be intentional from cheesemaking or the result of over-aging or improper storage. Some specific unwanted bacteria can cause pink discoloration.
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