How long will cheese singles last unrefrigerated?
February 25th, 2009
ordicus_2000 asked:
I bought some packaged cheese singles in November that are dubbed “pasteurized process sandwich slices” on the label. I also have some imitation cheese that I purchased at the same time. Just found it all still in the shopping bag in my car. No mold has grown that I can see. Is it still good? I know the rule of thumb for blocks of cheese is pretty much that it isn’t bad until it gets visibly moldy, and that even when it does you can usually just cut the mold off and eat it safely. Is the same true of cheese singles and imitation cheese?
I bought some packaged cheese singles in November that are dubbed “pasteurized process sandwich slices” on the label. I also have some imitation cheese that I purchased at the same time. Just found it all still in the shopping bag in my car. No mold has grown that I can see. Is it still good? I know the rule of thumb for blocks of cheese is pretty much that it isn’t bad until it gets visibly moldy, and that even when it does you can usually just cut the mold off and eat it safely. Is the same true of cheese singles and imitation cheese?
I am a former chef and you see them in the grocery stores on end displays and not refrigerated, chilling like most foods improves the flavour, they have been modified enough structurally with all the stabilzers, butter oils and milk soilds/by-products.
I have seen them in the smae place for weeks in the grocery store I use here in Canada, it is just more common to see them in the same general area as the other cheese products in the store, it makes it easier to find and market, but if your talking month and humidity changes or heat and cooling issues, there could be some structural issues or molding.
yuck cheese is meant to be cold and 2 month old cheese i would not touch but heres the difference