Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images and Meg Quinn on TikTok
You probably didn’t want to know this!
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Trader Joe’s has started selling a French cheese that is causing a big debate among shoppers. A social media user told people about how the cheese is made, and now some customers are not sure if they want to try it. The cheese is called Mimolette, and it has a bright orange color that looks like a cantaloupe.
According to Bro Bible, Meg Quinn posted a video on TikTok about the cheese that got 557,000 views. She talked about what makes this cheese different from others. But when she explained how it gets its flavor, many people were surprised and some were even grossed out.
Quinn said that this simple French cheese is tearing Trader Joe’s customers apart after the shocking process behind its signature nutty flavor was exposed. She explained that the cheese makers add tiny bugs called cheese mites to the outside of the cheese on purpose. “They purposely put little microscopic cheese mites on the rind, otherwise known as flower mites, to create little holes and burrow themselves in to aerate the cheese during its aging process,” Quinn said in her video.
Wait, there are bugs in my cheese?
These tiny bugs are so small you cannot see them with your eyes. They eat the outside part of the cheese and make little holes in it. This helps air get into the cheese while it ages. The bugs also help give the cheese its orange color and nutty taste. This might sound weird to people in America, but cheese makers in France have been doing this for hundreds of years.
Quinn said she has been buying this cheese at Whole Foods for a long time. She was excited to see it at Trader Joe’s because it is usually hard to find. She told her followers to buy it soon because it might not stay in stores for long. She also pointed out that the orange color makes it look great on cheese boards for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Even though the bug information might turn some people off, Quinn said the cheese tastes really good. “But you may just wanna forget this fun fact and go ahead and enjoy the cheese because it is really delicious,” she said. This is not the first time a food discovery at a popular chain has shocked customers.
@ainttooproudtomeg
…And it’s actually GOOD! This is Mimolette & I’ve been a fan for years BUT this is the first time I’ve seen it at TraderJoes. Assuming it’s a limited run, so grab it while you can. Head to my bio for my French Cheese Board Guide, featuring Mimolette, as well as my Trader Joe’s Budget Board Guide so you can build a beautiful spread this holiday season. #AintTooProudToCheese
♬ original sound – Meg Quinn
This cheese has caused problems in America before. Back in 2013, the Food and Drug Administration stopped letting this cheese come into the country. They were worried the bugs might cause health issues like allergic reactions. Thousands of pounds of the cheese got stuck in warehouses and could not be sold.
But people who know a lot about cheese said the FDA was wrong to worry. Rachel Dutton works at Harvard University and studies tiny living things in cheese. She said the bugs actually help make the cheese better.
“Cheese is absolutely alive,” Dutton said. She explained that mold, bacteria, yeast, and bugs all work together to make cheese taste good. The FDA eventually changed its mind, and the cheese came back to stores by the end of 2014.
People had different reactions to Quinn’s video. One person wrote, “They vacuum them off before they package for selling. And even if they didn’t they’re harmless. Why didn’t you include that.”
Someone else shared, “I met the guys who supply most of Whole foods cheeses. Whole Foods hates this. They source and bring in new product, test the market, then TJ takes the winners and goes straight to the source, no distributor, and undercuts them. Good for us though.”
Other people were not bothered at all. “Microscopic bugs are on nearly everything. Including us. We have them literally in our eye lashes,” one commenter pointed out. Similar reactions have occurred when customers discovered unexpected details about their restaurant orders.
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Dining and Cooking