Munster is a French soft washed-rind cheese made from pasteurized cow milk in the Vosges region. Its edible skin is sticky and orange in colour, coloured by the smear-ripening Brevibacterium linens flora, while the soft interior has a mild, piquant flavour which becomes more pungent as the cheese is washed and aged. Ripening occurs from the outside inward under controlled temperature and humidity, with regular brine washing that builds the characteristic rind. Protected designation rules govern its manufacture. As a surface-ripened, high-moisture cheese, it requires strict hygiene and continuous refrigeration to control Listeria monocytogenes through its shelf life.