Why is blue cheese edible?

1. You probably throw a moldy sandwich or jar of jam in the trash immediately. While you can put blue cheese - if you like it - on a piece of toast carefree. Why can you just eat one fungus and another is poisonous?

1. Fungi are tiny organisms that live everywhere: in the soil, water, on animals, plants and people. They can also be in food. There are many types of fungi.

Mycotoxins

1. Some fungi can produce natural toxins, mycotoxins. Some fungal toxins are more dangerous than others. Most mycotoxins will give you a stomachache if you take too much of them or you will be nauseous and vomit. But there are also fungi that produce aflatoxin. This is a poison that occurs on moldy nuts, for example, and is harmful to the liver and can even be carcinogenic. The Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority checks whether there are too many such toxins in food. In addition, manufacturers take great care that mold does not form on their goods during growth or storage. As a result, the risk of food with mycotoxins in the Netherlands is very small.

Edible fungi

1. Other fungi are harmless or even useful. Just think of the yeasts (unicellular fungi) needed to make dough rise and make beer. A number of mushrooms, the fruiting bodies of fungi, are edible. Even penicillin is made from a fungus Moldy cheeses also get their distinctive appearance and taste thanks to harmless molds. Some blue cheeses, such as brie and camembert, get mold sprinkled on their crust during production. With other cheeses, such as Roquefort, the curds become moldy during the production process.

Blue vein

1. We also call blue-vein cheeses blue-vein cheeses. They owe this name to the blue, sometimes blue-green 'veins' that run through these mold cheeses. These veins are created by piercing the cheese during ripening. This creates air channels in which the fungi thrive and form blue-green stripes.

Eating moldy cheese?

1. Mold on other products is usually not intended, as it indicates spoilage. You have stored something for too long or incorrectly. Even if only part of it appears moldy, fungi can already be invisibly spread throughout an entire jar of jam. So, to be on the safe side, throw away a bread with a layer of down or a green orange. An exception to this rule is hard cheese. If there is a moldy spot on it, you can cut it away and use the rest. White rashes or white granules in the cheese are ripening crystals, you can also eat them.

2. Mold on other products is usually not intended, as it indicates spoilage. You have stored something for too long or incorrectly. Even if only part of it appears moldy, fungi can already be invisibly spread throughout an entire jar of jam. So, to be on the safe side, throw away a bread with a layer of down or a green orange orange. An exception to this rule is hard cheese. If there is a moldy spot on it, you can cut it away and use the rest. White rashes on or white granules in the cheese are ripening crystals, you can also eat them.