Bathtub cheese is cheese that is made with the intention of being sold illegally. The term “bathtub” refers to the tubs that are sometimes used to make bathtub cheese, as well as the infamous Prohibition Era “bathtub gin.” The main concern with bathtub cheese is public health; this type of cheese can be extremely dangerous, causing outbreaks of tuberculosis, listeriosis, and salmonella. Bathtub cheese producers are frequently fined as a result of this.
The vast majority of bathtub cheese is fresh soft cheese made in filthy conditions from unpasteurized or “raw” milk. Although fresh, unpasteurized cheese is perfectly safe to eat, it must be made with care in extremely clean conditions, as it could otherwise become a breeding ground for bacteria that cause disease. As a result, many countries have banned the sale of unpasteurized fresh cheeses, requiring raw milk cheeses to be aged for at least 30-60 days before being sold to kill any bacteria.
The milk supply is carefully controlled, the environment is kept clean, and the entire factory is subject to regular inspection to check for public health risks in a licensed facility where cheese is manufactured. Bathtub cheese is made in conditions that aren’t conducive to food safety, and attitudes toward cleanliness and careful handling aren’t always positive. As a result, contaminants frequently enter the cheese during the manufacturing and packaging processes, and these contaminants are passed on to the final consumers. Because it is a raw, unaged cheese and was made in an unlicensed facility, the resulting cheese is illegal.
This cheese is commonly found in immigrant communities, where people want to try cheeses that remind them of home. A wide variety of fresh soft cheeses are made and consumed with a variety of meals in Latin America, for example, and a large number of bathtub cheese manufacturers target this market. People buy bathtub cheese for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it is made in the traditional manner or because it is less expensive and more readily available than cheeses sold in regular stores and markets.
A small number of renegade artisan cheesemakers may offer bathtub cheese to select clients, on the condition that the clients are aware of the risks and will not report the cheesemaker to agricultural inspectors. In these cases, cheesemakers can use their regular cheesemaking facilities to make special batches of soft fresh cheese, ensuring that the cheese is made in the same clean, safe conditions as commercially produced cheese. Even if the illegal cheese is perfectly safe to eat in these cases, consumers should exercise caution before purchasing bathtub cheese, even from a reputable source, because there is no way of knowing what the manufacturing conditions are like.