Hole Lot of Grief for Swiss Cheese Folks

The best-known Swiss cheese has a problem.

The trademark holes, produced by the release of carbon dioxide during its fermentation, are growing so big that some wheels of Emmental cheese are bursting.

“In the winter, some of these cheeses were so large we had to dismantle the shelves to get them out,” said dairyman Fritz Jakob.

The problem of the holes has stumped even the Schweizerische Cheese Union, the industry’s guardian of quality.

“It could be the cattle feed that is changing the milk quality; it could be the weather; it could be the dosage of bacteria cultures we use to trigger the fermentation process,” Jakob said. “All we know is that the fermentation process is not stopping when it should.”