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Most Jewish rabbinical authorities have determined that blue cheese and blue cheese dressing, which contain ‘edible’ mold, are clean and kosher foods. This article will challenge that determination, arguing that blue cheese and blue cheese dressing should not be classified as clean and kosher, and will declare blue cheese and blue cheese dressing UNCLEAN.
Most Jewish kosher certifying authorities classify blue cheese as clean and kosher, even though they acknowledge that the mold in blue cheese is not a green-pigmented chlorophyll herb. 3 Mold fungi do not use sunlight to synthesize nutrition from carbon dioxide and water (generating oxygen as a byproduct), and they do not produce plant-like seeds (they reproduce through spores that begin growing when they land on a damp surface). Jewish rabbinical authorities have classified blue cheese mold as clean, as mold is not specifically listed as unclean in Scripture.
GENESIS 1:29 (NKJV):
And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food.”
God’s original command to man of what he should eat for food is stated in Genesis 1:29. Adhering to a strict application of Genesis 1:29, it is not reasonable to conclude that God permits cheese-covered mold to be consumed simply because Scripture does not specifically forbid mold to be eaten. There are no subsequent Scripture verses that grant permission for man to consume mold or any other form of fungi, and mold is only mentioned in a negative context in Scripture.
JOSHUA 9:5,12 (NKJV – Condensed):
… and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. …
This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy.
Men of Gibeon went to greet men of Israel, and they presented their provisions of bread as having become dry and moldy. Scripture does not proclaim mold on bread as appetite-appealing, but as something that has made bread undesirable.
UNCLEAN CHARACTERISTICS OF MOLD
CHLOROPHYLL-FREE
Molds are growing fungi organisms with no chlorophyll, flowers, or leaves. Molds are furry green or gray growths of minute fungi that develop on food or living or dead plant or animal matter. Molds are not chlorophyll-pigmented green vegetation herbs. Green herbs receive their life-sustaining energy by photosynthesizing energy from carbon dioxide, sunlight, and water. Molds do not use sunlight for energy and thrive better in dark-shaded areas.
SEEDLESS
Molds, unlike plants that produce visible seeds, reproduce through scattering microscopic, invisible spores. God allows man to eat every green herb that yields [VISIBLE] seed and every tree whose fruit yields [VISIBLE] seed (Genesis 1:29).
Molds are neither seed-bearing green herbs, nor fruit-bearing trees; they are spore-budding fungi.
INEDIBLE, POISONOUS, AND TOXIC MOLDS
Many types of mold can be toxic, including Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Geotrichum. Penicillium, Stachybotrys, Trichoderma, and Ulocladium. Some molds can cause allergic reactions, while others can cause serious illness or death. Each type includes many species of mold, which can have various harmful effects. Symptoms range from allergy-type reactions to deadly illnesses. All of these types of mold can grow indoors and be found in homes.
SPOILAGE
The mold in blue cheese, Penicillium roqueforti, is generally considered edible and safe for human consumption, yet some people experience allergic reactions or digestive issues, while others might react to mycotoxins produced by spoiled blue cheese. Consuming spoiled blue cheese can cause food poisoning, with symptoms ranging from nausea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea.[i] The toxic compound mycotoxins produced by the mold in blue cheese can cause digestive distress, suppress immune function, and contribute to liver disease and cancer.[ii]
Ironically, mold growing on blue cheese, namely fuzzy white, pink, green, or gray spots on the surface of blue cheese, is an indication that it has gone bad.
BLUE CHEESE, LOBSTERS, AND CRABS; A SHARED TRAIT
What can blue cheese, lobsters, and crabs possibly have in common? Toxic spoilage. Lobsters and crabs, unclean creatures, contain harmful bacteria that are naturally present in their flesh. Once dead, harmful bacteria in lobsters and crabs can rapidly multiply and release toxins that may not be destroyed by cooking. Lobsters and crabs are thus cooked alive to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
JOB 14:4 (NKJV):
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!
Blue cheese, like lobsters and crabs, can easily spoil and rapidly produce toxins, causing food poisoning if consumed.
CHEESE-COVERED MOLD IS LIKE LIPSTICK ON A PIG
Blue cheese is literally cheese-covered mold. It’s still mold people are consuming when they eat blue cheese. Blue cheese would not be as palatable if the cheese were removed from the blue cheese and only the mold was left to eat.
Pork cannot be made clean by feeding it grass or raising it on pasture, and mold cannot be made clean by covering it in cheese. Mold covered in cheese is still mold, just as a pig with lipstick is still a pig.
CLASSIC CHICKEN WINGS VS. BONELESS, SKINLESS WINGS
Chicken wings, or buffalo chicken wings, are a popular staple food item on many restaurant-bar menus in the United States. Chicken wings are most often served with blue cheese dressing and celery. People who consume classic chicken wings with blue cheese dressing are violating two dietary commands simultaneously by consuming the fat from chickens, which is confined primarily in their skin, and the mold contained within blue cheese dressing.
LEVITICUS 3:17 (NKJV):
“This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.”
Boneless, skinless chicken wings are much leaner than standard chicken wings.
Traditional skin-on chicken wings have a fat content of 3.5%, compared to the 1.25% fat content of boneless, skinless wings. Traditional bone-in, skin-on chicken wings contain more than double the calories as boneless, skinless wings. Six traditional chicken wings contain 780 calories compared to six boneless wings that contain 350 calories.[iii] The caloric and fat content of traditional chicken wings can be reduced by removing the skin before consuming them. Clean, kosher-observing believers should opt to eat boneless wings with ranch or honey mustard dressing.
MEDICINAL AND OTHER LAWFUL USES OF MOLD
Penicillin, derived from the Penicillium mold, has saved countless lives since its discovery in 1928. It is permissible to use refined molds as antibiotic medications. Penicillin has been proven to be a wonder drug, but even so, some people are allergic to Penicillin medication.
Molds, like yeasts and bacteria, are microorganisms that play a crucial role in food fermentation, a process where microorganisms convert carbohydrates (like sugars and starches) into acids, alcohol, or other compounds. Certain types of mold are used in the fermentation and production of various foods, including miso, sake, soy sauce, and vinegar. Molds used in food production are typically discarded and are not a part of the final finished food product.
Unclean molds are used in the fermentation and production of clean foods, just as the unclean honeybee is used to make clean honey.
Besides blue cheese, Brie and Camembert cheese, products from France, also contain mold and should be avoided by clean, kosher-eating believers.
Jewish rabbinical authority is NOT the final authority on determining whether blue cheese is clean or unclean. Rabbinical authorities have not properly distinguished and made known the difference between unclean and clean creatures according to Scripture (Ezekiel 22:26).
Rabbinical kosher-certifying authorities err in classifying ‘edible’ mold contained in blue cheese in the following two ways:
- They classify ‘edible’ mold as clean fungi. God, through the Scriptures, did not permit man to consume mold.
- They disregard the fact that ‘edible’ molds are not green vegetation herbs. Molds are seedless, spore-budding, scavenger, decomposer fungi organisms that feed off dead or living plants and trees.
[i] Hussein HS, Brasel JM., Toxicology, “Toxicity, metabolism, and impact of mycotoxins on humans and animals,” Volume 167, Issue 2, 15 October 2001, Pages 101-134. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0300483X01004711?via%3Dihub
[ii] Zain ME., Journal of Saudi Chemical Society, “Impact of mycotoxins on humans and animals,” Volume 15, Issue 2, Aplril 2011, Pages 129-144. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1319610310000827?via%3Dihub
[iii] Beef O’Brady’s Family Sports Restaurant, Menu, 2025.
