Stinky cheese is safe to eat. The pungent smell that makes you recoil when you open the package is an intentional product of controlled fermentation, not a sign that something has gone wrong. Cheeses like Limburger, Epoisses, Taleggio, and Munster are designed to smell powerful, and the bacteria responsible for that aroma are harmless. That said, there are real safety considerations around soft and surface-ripened cheeses that are worth understanding, especially for certain groups of people.
Why Some Cheeses Smell So Strong
The intense odor of washed-rind cheeses comes from specific bacteria, most notably a species called Brevibacterium linens, that live on the cheese’s surface. During ripening, these bacteria break down proteins and produce sulfur-containing volatile compounds. Those sulfur compounds are the same family of chemicals responsible for the smell of sweaty feet, which is why the comparison comes up so often. B. linens actually does live on human skin, too.
Cheesemakers deliberately cultivate these bacteria by repeatedly washing the rind with brine, beer, wine, or spirits during the aging process. This creates the perfect environment for surface microorganisms to thrive while suppressing the growth of unwanted mold. The result is a cheese that smells far more intense than it tastes. If you can get past the aroma, most washed-rind cheeses have a rich, savory, surprisingly mild flavor.
Spoiled vs. Intentionally Stinky
The tricky part is distinguishing a cheese that’s supposed to smell strong from one that’s actually gone bad. A few reliable markers help:
- Ammonia smell: A faint whiff of ammonia is normal in surface-ripened cheeses like Brie and Camembert, especially near the rind. A sharp, overwhelming ammonia odor that doesn’t fade after the cheese sits out for a few minutes suggests it’s past its prime.
- Color changes: If the cheese has darkened, faded, or developed colors it didn’t have when you bought it, that’s a warning sign.
- Texture shifts: Sliminess, excessive oiliness, or a dried-out, crumbly texture where there used to be creaminess indicates spoilage.
- Unexpected mold: White and blue-green molds are normal on cheeses made with them (Brie, Roquefort, Gorgonzola). But if you see black, pink, or fuzzy mold on a cheese that isn’t supposed to have it, that’s a problem. For hard cheeses, you can trim off about a quarter-inch beyond the moldy spot and eat the rest safely. For soft cheeses, the USDA recommends discarding the whole piece, since mold threads penetrate more easily through soft textures.
- Bloated packaging: If a sealed package is puffed up or swollen, bacteria are producing gas inside. Toss it.
The Real Risk: Listeria in Soft Cheese
The genuine safety concern with stinky cheese isn’t the smell. It’s the fact that many pungent cheeses are also soft-ripened, and soft cheeses have a higher risk of harboring Listeria monocytogenes. This bacterium is unusually dangerous because it thrives at refrigerator temperatures, meaning cold storage doesn’t protect you the way it does with most foodborne pathogens.
Between 1998 and 2014, the CDC documented 17 listeriosis outbreaks linked to soft cheese in the United States, causing 180 illnesses, 14 fetal losses, and 17 deaths. About two-thirds of those outbreaks involved Latin-style fresh cheeses like queso fresco, but soft-ripened and blue-veined varieties were also implicated. A USDA retail survey found Listeria in 1.3% of cheeses made from unpasteurized milk and 0.5% of cheeses made from pasteurized milk. The numbers are low, but the consequences of listeriosis are severe enough that the risk matters.
Pasteurization kills Listeria effectively. Most commercially produced stinky cheeses in the U.S. use pasteurized milk, making them considerably safer. Cheeses made from raw milk are legal to sell in the U.S. only if they’ve been aged at least 60 days, which reduces but doesn’t eliminate bacterial risk. If you’re buying artisanal or imported cheese, check the label for pasteurization status.
Who Should Be More Careful
For most healthy adults, eating stinky cheese from a reputable source poses minimal risk. But certain groups face a much higher threat from Listeria and should take extra precautions. Pregnant women, young children, older adults, and anyone with a weakened immune system are all significantly more vulnerable to severe listeriosis.
The CDC’s current guidelines for pregnant women specifically flag soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk (including Brie, Camembert, and blue-veined varieties) as riskier choices. Hard cheeses made from pasteurized milk, like Parmesan, cheddar, and Swiss, are considered safer. Pasteurized soft cheeses are also fine if heated to 165°F or until steaming hot, which kills any Listeria that may have contaminated the product after pasteurization.
If you’re in a high-risk group and craving something funky, a well-aged hard cheese like aged Gruyère or Parmesan can deliver complex, strong flavors with much less bacterial risk.
Storing Stinky Cheese Safely
Soft washed-rind cheeses are living products that continue to ripen in your refrigerator. They have a shorter safe window than harder varieties. Plan to eat most soft, stinky cheeses within two weeks to one month of purchase, and sooner once you’ve cut into them. Keep them wrapped in wax paper or parchment (not plastic wrap, which traps moisture and accelerates spoilage) and store them in the coldest part of your fridge, ideally between 35°F and 45°F.
These cheeses will get smellier as they age. That’s normal. But if the smell crosses from “barn-like” or “earthy” into “chemical” or “sour milk,” or if any of the visual spoilage signs appear, it’s time to let it go. When in doubt with soft cheese, err on the side of discarding rather than trimming.
The Mold on the Rind
Many stinky cheeses have visible mold on the outside, which understandably raises questions. The white, velvety rind on Brie and Camembert is a specific mold (Penicillium camemberti) that’s deliberately introduced and completely safe to eat. The blue-green veins in Roquefort, Gorgonzola, and Stilton come from another intentional mold (Penicillium roqueforti), also safe. These molds are part of what gives these cheeses their characteristic flavors.
The molds to worry about are the ones that show up uninvited: black spots, pink or orange fuzzy patches, or any mold growing on a cheese type that shouldn’t have it. If your cheddar develops blue fuzz, that’s not a bonus feature. Trim it generously or discard it, depending on how widespread it is.