Eating bad cream cheese can lead to food poisoning and cause a stomach ache, flu like symptoms, diarrhea, vomiting etc.
Most cases of food poisoning are not severe enough to be fatal but in rare cases it can be especially if the cream cheese had botulism.
If the cream cheese is bad then it will usually smell rancid, have mold in it, may become softer or harder and may also be very crumbly.
Bad cream cheese should be thrown out.
Cream Cheese is generally okay to eat if left out overnight as long as the room temperature was not too hot.
However cream cheese can easily spoil and grow bacteria if left out longer than 2 hours but that dose not mean it is actually unsafe to eat.
It's just a health regulation that food services etc must follow and if you do leave cream cheese out longer than a couple of hours then there's a slight risk of bacteria growing on the cream cheese.
I've admittedly have eaten cream cheese left out overnight and I never got sick but there's still the possibility of it.
You have a very low chance of getting sick from eating cream cheese left out overnight but just beware that you may get sick.
Just make sure the cream cheese does not smell bad, has mold, maggots etc in it and it's generally okay to eat the cream cheese that was left out overnight.
Cream Cheese can be frozen and when frozen the cream cheese will last for up to a year.
However cream cheese does not freeze all that good and when you do freeze cream cheese it's texture and taste can change.
That doesn't mean that the cream cheese has gone bad but it just won't be as enjoyable as fresh cream cheese would be.
Frozen Cream Cheese is best used in baked goods where the texture and change in taste won't be noticed.
Cream Cheese can safely be left out at room temperature for up to 2 hours.
After 2 hours at room temperature the cream cheese can start growing bacteria which could make you sick and it can begin to spoil.
So make sure to refrigerate any leftover cream cheese or any other cream cheese within 2 hours or throw it out as it could make you sick.
If the cream cheese has any mold on it, has a bad smell to it, or has become really crumbly or hard then it's bad and should be thrown out.
Cream cheese once opened will usually last for up to a week in the refrigerator.
If you want to extend the life of the cream cheese you can freeze it for use later.
However when cream cheese is frozen it loses it's texture and can also become crumbly but it's best for baked goods where the taste, texture etc won't be noticed.