Re: How long would it take for mold to grow on cottage cheese when refrigerated

I got the following answer, by Christine Erikson, from a list serve I belong to:

At refridgeration temperatures of 4degC or less and without added preservative, we regularly achieved between four - 6 weeks shelf life of cottage cheese whilst making cottage cheese. This result was only achieved by ensuring production hygiene techniques and the hygiene management of the surrounding environment were extremely well controlled.

Experience with temperatures especially in the domestic/retail arena of 7 deg C or higher could see the development of moulds within 7-12 days of production. This would depend on the level of temperature abuse and of course the original extent of the level of mould contamination of the product. pH of the cottage cheese and the salt content may also influence the outcome as well as the competitive surface (aerobic)growth of other pyschrotrophic microorganisms such as Pseudomonas species.