That is a very coarse categorisation. Really hard cheese, like parmigiano reggiano, is almost always already “contaminated”, which is why the last few centimetres towards the crust shouldn’t be eaten.

For anything softer than that, f.i. middle-aged Gouda or Emmental, I wouldn’t risk it, as the mould will already be spread far wider than visible.

Yeah, there still are heaps of MSG in them and therefore a lot of traditional “cucina povera” recipes make use of them.

Still, at least for parmigiano reggiano, modern food science has found that the mold living in the cheese dairies penetrates the rind several centimetres deep and is almost ubiquitous.

Likely it is as always: the dose makes the posion.