Potentially less spoilage, because it would be limited to just one slice, and also less risk of smelly fingers. It's simply a convenience and comfort issue for

Potentially less spoilage, because it would be limited to just one slice, and also less risk of smelly fingers. It's simply a convenience and comfort issue for a lot of people. We've gotten used to pre-sliced, pre-portioned food products. There's also a big convenience benefit for breakfast buffets and similar situations where slicing your own cheese is seen as inconvenient, messy and time-consuming. Personally I don't even like to buy pre-sliced cheese, never mind individually packaged slices. I have a perfectly reasonable cheese slicer, and a cheese knife for softer cheeses. We absolutely do not need plastic packages with 10 slices of cheese, separated by individual plastic sheets. Most of the time the pre-sliced cheese also tastes worse, and tends to go sour-smelling after a day or two, once the package is opened. I find it extremely puzzling that we've managed to turn a thing meant to preserve dairy potentially for years, into something prone to spoiling extremely quickly. There's a similar issue with pre-sliced serrano ham and other meats that are packaged with plastic sheets between them. Sure, it helps you to take out a single slice cleanly, but the plastic waste is insane. I'm not sure if there's a better packaging solution, but honestly I would just prefer to buy a whole piece of cured ham, and slice off thin pieces myself instead.