Commercial Cheeses - Shelf Life?

[bigfish_oz]

I've just discovered a collection of various cheeses (commercial) that were moved into a fridge in my garage a while back and promptly forgotten. The obvious "problems" such as Camembert and Chevre have gone on a holiday to the local landfill. So I find myself with a mixed bag of old cheese, all of which are vacuum packed and have "Use by" dates in the range of April to November 2010.

All look fine. They comprise Port Salut, generic "Swiss", Edam, Double Gloucester, Halloumi ( in brine).

Given that many cheeses are matured for more than twelve months, what is the likelihood that these are beyond edible?

Thoughts, anyone?

Cheers,
Alan

[linuxboy]

Port salut might be a tad off, depending on how it was made. The rest are fine.

"Expiration date" on hard cheeses  is put there as a guidance for best use by for when the flavor will be consistent for that product.

[bigfish_oz]

Thanks LB!

I sort of figured that the Port Salut may have ended up a bit too strong to be readily edible, although the texture still looks right.

But if I suddenly stop using the forum then you'll know why ...