How bad is Brie in a car in Sydney in spring ?
October 13, 2017 7:33 AM   Subscribe

So I found a wheel of brie in the back of my car. It must have been in there two weeks. Or one. I'm not sure. It was quite soft. I brought it in to the house to throw in the bin but forgot because of a trombone. Don't ask. I just now see that my kids found the brie on the bench and ate it. Or maybe it was also the neighbour's kids. I just tried a bit of it and it seemed okish. Who will die first?
posted by taff to Health & Fitness (11 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
If they ate the whole thing then it presumably didn't look horrible or taste really bad, in which case it's probably fine. Refrigeration isn't required with cheese (it can just extend the shelf life). Cheese was, after all, a way of making milk last longer before fridges existed.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:39 AM on October 13, 2017 [8 favorites]


I would say, "monitor, but don't worry too much." Cheese is a way of preserving milk. Like, should it be stored at car-interior temps? Ideally not, and the quality of the cheese is probably affected. But it's probably fine. Especially a whole wheel with the rind intact.
posted by mskyle at 7:40 AM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Definitely monitor and contact the neighbors too if their kids ate it. Soft cheeses are breeding grounds for listeria, which can be serious. Taste is not an indication of whether a food is safe. Watch for symptoms of fever, stiff neck, confusion, weakness, or vomiting, sometimes preceded by diarrhea. Seek medical treatment if any of these come up. Listeria is curable, but you need to seek treatment right away. More here.
posted by FencingGal at 8:01 AM on October 13, 2017 [6 favorites]


Ethically you should tell the other parents and all of you should watch the kids for weird symptoms. But it's most likely that all will go well and you'll die first, in 55 years or so.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:05 AM on October 13, 2017 [21 favorites]


First, find out who ate the cheese!

Was it your kids? Was it the neighbors' kids? I assume that it couldn't have been an animal? It seems unlikely to me that your kids opened the cheese, ate some and then the neighbors' kids randomly came by and ate more, so you should be able to establish just who did the eating.

In re listeria: Obviously it's good to be aware, but I've always heard that young people who are not immunosuppressed are not as likely to get it, so watchfulness is important but maybe not panic yet.
posted by Frowner at 8:09 AM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: > Soft cheeses are breeding grounds for listeria,

Listeria is not going to manifest in a cheese left in a car rather than properly refrigerated. It is there from the start, or not at all. If someone is concerned about listeria, they should never eat soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk, regardless of the conditions in which the cheese was stored.

If the cheese had Gone Bad, you would have known it because it would smell like cat pee and generally be pretty gross in appearance and texture. Sounds like you accidentally created a nice aging environment for it - most commercially available brie-like cheeses are sold too young. Everyone should be fine.
posted by rtha at 8:59 AM on October 13, 2017 [17 favorites]


Best answer: Refrigeration won't make a difference to listeria. As pointed out above it is either there because it was contaminated in the manufacture - in which case refrigeration won't help you, even a small amount suppressed by cold is bad news - or it isn't - in which case lack of refrigeration won't make it appear.

When dairy goes off because it spoils, it makes itself quite obviously known, in contrast to many other foods. I wouldn't worry about this.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:10 AM on October 13, 2017 [2 favorites]


Best answer: When I lived in France, cheese was stored on the counter. For weeks. Nobody died.
posted by songs_about_rainbows at 1:44 PM on October 13, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I would be pretty pissed off that those little thieves ate my cheese.
Other than that I wouldn't think twice about it.
posted by SLC Mom at 2:05 PM on October 13, 2017 [5 favorites]


Best answer: bad soft brie tastes like ammonia. you can still eat it, but it's not nice. I'm sure the kids are fine.
posted by jb at 9:02 PM on October 13, 2017


Response by poster: You coulda couched it a little softer that I'M GOING TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO DIE!

Ok, it was the neighbour' kiddo, two of my least favourite children, and me (as official taster). We're all fine. I put mine in a toastie and it was bloody delicious.

Who knew!? Thanks people. I was freaked out initially. And damn it tasted yum when I gobbled the last of it.

Thank you!!
posted by taff at 5:58 PM on October 14, 2017 [1 favorite]


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