Is raw cheese safe just because it has been aged? No aging period can guarantee that a raw-milk cheese is free of harmful germs. Aging can reduce some risks under certain conditions, but the US 60-day rule is a legal standard—not a promise that every cheese is safe to eat.
What Aging Can—and Can’t—Do
Raw milk has not been pasteurized to kill disease-causing germs. During cheesemaking and aging, acidity, moisture, salt and temperature can affect whether microbes survive or grow. Those conditions vary by cheese, though, and aging does not reliably eliminate every pathogen.
A study tested 245 raw-milk cheese samples collected at retail in Italy. Researchers found no Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes in the samples they examined, but they did find bacterial contamination, especially in soft sheep’s-milk cheeses. The result describes those particular samples; it cannot show that raw-milk cheese in general is free of pathogens. Nor does a lower bacterial count in a hard cheese prove that it is safe.
Is Raw Cheese Safe Under the US 60-Day Rule?
In the United States, federal rules generally require raw-milk cheese sold across state lines to be aged for at least 60 days at a temperature of at least 35°F (about 2°C). The rule is intended to reduce risk; it does not mean that all harmful germs will be killed by day 60. It also does not cover every question about sales within a state, where rules can differ.
So if a label says “aged 60 days,” you can take that as information about the cheese’s age and a regulatory requirement—not as a guarantee of safety. Pasteurization and aging are not interchangeable processes.
Why Rules Differ In The UK, EU And Australia
There is no single international 60-day standard that makes every raw-milk cheese safe. In the EU, food-hygiene rules set conditions for raw milk and products made from it, while member states can have additional requirements. The EU’s rules include microbiological criteria for certain cheeses, but meeting a legal criterion does not mean that risk is zero.
The UK has its own food-safety framework, and the details can depend on the product and the UK nation. Australia also regulates raw-milk cheeses under specific food-standard requirements and permitted categories; it is not simply a case of any raw-milk cheese becoming acceptable after 60 days. If you are buying cheese across borders, check the rules where it is sold and look for clear information about whether the milk was pasteurized. A US aging label alone does not establish compliance or safety elsewhere.
Pregnancy And Other Reasons For Extra Caution
Pregnant people, young children, adults over 65 and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of serious illness from some foodborne germs. Listeria is a particular concern during pregnancy because infection can harm the pregnancy even if the pregnant person feels only mildly ill or has no obvious symptoms.
If you are pregnant or in another higher-risk group, choosing cheese made with pasteurized milk is the more cautious option; do not rely on aging alone to make raw-milk cheese safe. Pasteurization does not remove every food-safety risk from every food, but it is a clear distinction to check on the label. If you think you have eaten contaminated cheese while pregnant, contact a healthcare professional for advice.
What To Check Before You Buy
Read the label for “raw milk,” “unpasteurized” or “made with unpasteurized milk,” and check whether the cheese is pasteurized if that matters for your health or local guidance. Ask the seller if the label is unclear. Keep in mind that a cheese’s style, firmness or age cannot tell you by itself whether it was made from pasteurized milk or whether it contains harmful germs.
For most healthy adults, the decision involves accepting some risk that aging rules cannot erase. For people at higher risk, choosing a pasteurized alternative avoids the added uncertainty of raw-milk cheese.