John A. Lucey is a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the director of the Center for Dairy Research.
Cheesemakers are constantly striving to make high-quality cheese by avoiding the occurrence of any unwanted attributes or defects. There are many causes of defects in cheese and I will focus on those that are directly related to microbiological issues. We can broadly separate the source of this contamination into those occurring on the farm or at the cheese plant.