If you’re prone to queasiness, we’d suggest you move away from this article at great speed. That headline is not a word of lie. There are actually cheeses out there that have been made from belly button bacteria.
Dublin’s Science Gallery hosted a special event as part of the Selfmade exhibition, where they showcased a selection of artisanal cheeses made from bits of the skin’s ecosystem.
This included gathering bacteria from various body parts.
American scientist Christina Agapakis who’s part of the exhibition told design magazine Dezeen: “It’s no surprise that sometimes cheese odours and body odours are similar.”
“But when we started working together we were surprised by how not only do cheese and smelly body parts like feet share similar odour molecules but also have similar microbial populations.”
Agapakis and Norwegian scent expert Sissel Tolaas along with chef Michael Pollan, took bacteria from the nose, a sample of tears and dug out bacteria from a belly button. Mmmm tasty.
More information on the rather unusual exhibition can be found here. Below, a short film about cheese, microbes, and the human, featuring Michael Pollan, anthropologist Heather Paxson, Seana Doughty of Bleating Heart Creamery and cheese microbiologist Ben Wolfe:
Image via Getty
