Every KnowTheCheese article ends with source cards that name what was used and for which claim. This page explains the kinds of sources behind them and how disagreements are handled.
Last updated October 2, 2026.
In This Article
What a source card tells you
A source card gives the publisher, the title, the year and a link to the page used. Its note says what the source supports, for example a milk treatment, a maturation period or a safety rule.
A card is not a general recommendation of the publisher. It records the one claim the article rests on it for.
Which source answers which question
- Food safety and pregnancy: public-health authorities such as the CDC, the NHS and the FDA, with the country and conditions their advice covers.
- Identity and production rules: protected-designation registers and specifications, such as INAO and EUR-Lex records, and consortium sites.
- A maker's own product: the producer's site, product page or technical sheet, which describes that producer's cheese and no other.
- Nutrition: food-composition records such as USDA FoodData Central, or the exact product label, with the serving weight stated.
- Context and history: trade press, specialist cheese publications and journals, attributed to the author or outlet.
- Availability: retailer listings, used only to say what a listing shows at that time.
By the numbers
As of October 2026 the 493 articles carry more than 4,200 source cards. About a quarter come from government, public-health and university sources, and about a fifth come from producers.
Roughly one card in seven links Wikipedia or cheese.com. They summarise other sources, so a new or rewritten article does not rest on them when a producer, designation, government, standards or peer-reviewed source exists.
Older articles are brought in line as they are rewritten.
When sources disagree
Where two sources give different answers on a fact a reader needs, the article states both positions and who holds each. It does not pick one silently.
A fact that no good source supports is left out of the article. When the unknown changes what a reader should do, the article says what to do instead, such as checking the label for the milk treatment.
Numbers and units
Nutrition figures carry a stated serving weight, and a generic food record is never presented as the composition of every brand. The editorial policy sets out how conversions, dry-matter fat and maturation periods are handled.
Reporting a source problem
If a link is broken, a source does not say what a card claims, or a better source exists, send the article address and the source through the contact page. A correction shows in the page's updated date.