Can I leave cut (but airtight wrapped) aged pecorino at room temperature for a couple of hours?

Question

I bought it for a friend and want to give it to them but I will have to travel with the aged pecorino cheese for a couple of hours at room temperature before giving it to him. Is it safe to do so? It is about 150 grams and it is really aged and really airtight, wrapped in a thick plastic wrap (that is how I bought it from the store).

Answer 1

Pecorino Romano can be stored at room temperature for weeks, even without vacuum sealing. So you're fine.

Answer 2

I've done it a few times. Still sealed in the plastic packaging that it was sold in.

You're probably shortening the storage lifetime on it, but as it's something that's made near room temperature, I don't think it's quite as much of a big deal as meat, soft cheeses or other high-risk foods.

If you can, you can wrap it in something insulating (clothes, for instance), with an ice pack. Although if you're flying in the US, the ice pack would probably be taken by security unless you check your bag.

Traveling with a block of cheese in your carry-on bag will likely get you a bag search, as they just see a block of organic matter, and can't tell if it's cheese or a block of explosives. This is especially problematic if you have a lot of cables and electronics in your bag with it.