Any obvious signs of pathogenic bacteria infestation that you can note for us linuxboy? Bacterial contamination sounds to be much more insidious and difficult to detect.
Which? Listeria, not so much. Coliform, you'll smell a distinct note of sh*t, or paste defects, but that's rather rare. 157, for example doesn't really leave a huge trace because it doesn't outcompete LABs that well, but can still be present enough to cause some damage. Pseudomonas smells like shrimp, is fishy, but not a concern in the US... more an issue in France and other areas with water supply issues. Salmonella honestly not huge risk vector, and won't be that detectable organoleptically. Staph honestly not a huge issue for cheese. Listeria is the big one. But you can mitigate listeria through rind management and aging, provided initial CFU load is not extreme.
Similarly, smelly cheese usually not pathogenic. But might give you digestive upset.
My approach of eating everything is not a best practice for food safety or practice. But, I'd rather go out enjoying some stinky cheese on my own terms, anyway. Life is not worth living without raw milk cheese.
