When is mold a poison? Safety regulations. Mold on food: danger, prevention and treatment Is it okay to eat moldy foods

Mold is a microscopic fungus that lives on animal and plant foods.

Mold has branches and roots that look like fine filaments. The roots are called substrate mycelium, they are almost invisible and penetrate deep into the substrate or food. The branches are called aerial mycelium. A common companion of molds is bacteria.

Some types of mold can cause allergic reactions and respiratory diseases, others, under certain conditions, release mycotoxins, substances that are toxic to humans.

Can moldy food be cut and eaten? To answer this question, you need to imagine what is happening inside the product, where the mold starts.

Mold is dangerous. Certain types of mold can cause allergic reactions and breathing problems. There are species that produce toxic mycotoxins that are hazardous to health.

Mold does not only live on the surface of the product. Only a fraction of the mold is on the surface of food - gray fur on forgotten pasta or fluffy green dots on bread, white dust on cheese, velvety coin-sized mugs on fruit. If profuse mold has appeared on the surface of the food, this means that its roots are deep. In dangerous molds, toxic substances are found in and around the roots. In some cases, toxic substances are spread throughout the product.

Mold is found almost everywhere in the environment, indoors and outdoors, and at any time of the year. Mold grows well in warm and humid conditions. Outside the home, mold can be easily found in shady, humid places or where leaves or plant debris are decaying. Indoors, mold loves damp places. Mold spores. They dry up and fly in the air, finding new places to start their life cycle again.

Molds Alternaria, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Geotrichum, Monilia, Manoscus, Mortierella, Mucor, Neurospora, Oidium, Oosproa, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Thamnidium grow mainly on meat and other poultry products, but.

Toxic substances released by some types of mold are mycotoxins. These are mainly molds that grow on grains and nuts, but can also be found on celery, grape juice and other foods. There are so many of these types of mold that scientists are constantly discovering more and more. According to the Food and Agrarian Organization (FAO) at the United Nations, 25% of the world's crop is contaminated with mycotoxins, of which the most dangerous is aflatoxin.

Certain types of fungi that live on or inside food produce aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are poisons that cause cancer. Most often, the fungi that secrete aflatoxins live in grains and peanuts. Aflatoxins are the most famous and most studied mycotoxins in the world. Aflatoxins cause a variety of diseases such as aflatoxicosis in livestock, domestic animals and humans around the world. Prevention of contamination of food and feed with aflatoxin is one of the most difficult problems of toxicology today.

Don't buy moldy foods. Inspect products carefully before purchasing. Check canned foods in glass jars. Pay attention to the stems of fresh vegetables and fruits. Don't buy broken vegetables and fruits. Let the supermarket manager know about mold on food! Fresh meats and poultry are usually mold-free, but processed foods and canned foods can become moldy. Be careful! Exceptions are some types of salami with a thin white moldy film that is safe to eat. Typically, dried hams have surface mold that needs to be removed before cooking.

Wash the refrigerator or cabinet where the moldy product was stored immediately. Check nearby food. Mold instantly spreads to nearby vegetables and fruits.

How to protect food from mold? You need to cover the prepared food with foil to protect it from mold spores from the air. Put perishable food from opened cans into clean containers and refrigerate immediately. Do not leave perishable food out of the refrigerator for more than two hours. Store leftover food for no more than 3-4 days to prevent mold from growing.

Don't give mold a chance. Don't buy a lot of food or store it for long periods. But what if something is still moldy? Don't smell moldy product! It can cause respiratory problems.

If the food product is covered with mold, discard it by wrapping it or placing it in a small plastic bag. Dispose of moldy food only in resealable waste containers.

Source http://www.fgu-radiovetlab.ru/

The site administration does not assess the recommendations and reviews about treatment, drugs and specialists. Remember that the discussion is conducted not only by doctors, but also by ordinary readers, so some advice can be dangerous to your health. Before any treatment or taking medications, we recommend that you contact a specialist!

Often, vegetables that are moldy on one side are in the refrigerator, and bread is slightly moldy in the bread bin. Is it okay to eat these foods (at least from the side where the mold is not visible?)

Is a small amount of mold in the corner of the loaf really a sentence for him or just an annoying little thing that should not be paid much attention to?

Most of the mold is not visible, so discard the entire piece

Marianne Gravely, Lead Specialist at the United States Department of Agriculture says: “we do not recommend cutting off moldy pieces and eating bread - mold cells easily penetrate the entire product and even if you cannot see them, they are most likely to be found throughout the whole piece of bread. ”.

Mold - these are small fungi - if you look under a microscope - they easily penetrate the product and often simply cannot be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, you can never be sure how deeply the mold has settled in your loaf.

By the way, speaking, if the bread was immediately pre-cut, this somewhat prevents the spread of mold throughout the piece, but again does not guarantee your safety. Therefore, just in case, feel free to throw away pieces of food with mold.

Certain types of mold (like mushrooms) are edible, such as gorgonzola cheese, but moldy bread is not the best source of extra fiber.

Even if a piece of bread is moldy on only one edge, throw it all away!

Don't sniff mold

People who eat mold can suffer from allergic reactions and respiratory problems, Gravely said. Even inhaling mold spores can be dangerous.

Just in case, sniffing the mold is also not worth it - the pores will get into your lungs and can potentially cause problems.

What to throw away immediately and what not

The softer the food, the easier it is for mold to penetrate the entire piece of food. Therefore, bread, soft fruits, meat, jams, moldy even from one edge - immediately go to the trash can.

On the site today.com, there are examples of products that need to be thrown away when even a small amount of mold appears on them:

• hot dogs,
• bacon,
• casseroles,
• paste,
• yogurt,
• jams,
• cooked meat,
• bread,
• nut butter,
• any soft cheese,
• leftover food.

Hard cheeses (and vegetables) - can be cleaned of mold and eaten - this is normal.

However, the harder the food, the more likely it is that the mold can be removed and the food continues to be eaten. Gravely says that hard cheeses and vegetables (such as carrots, cabbage) and other harder foods can be cleaned of mold (with plenty of room for mold spore infiltration - Gravely writes about a 1-inch buffer) and eaten.

Also, if one of the strawberries in the package is moldy, you do not need to throw out the entire pack, just make sure that the mold has not penetrated the rest of the berries.

By the way, if you often get mold, try washing the refrigerator more often - this also helps the food to keep longer.

For reference:

Is any mold dangerous? No, only those species and strains of molds that produce mycotoxins. But, of course, it is impossible to determine by eye what exactly "settled" on the products, therefore it is recommended never to eat those products that have suffered at least a little from mold.

There are a lot of mycotoxins: more than 400 known species alone. Moreover, one fungus can produce several types of toxins.

There are several reasons for classifying mycotoxins. For example, by the nature of the fungus, the effect on the body, by the type of toxin.

What foods can be affected by mycotoxins? And what does this threaten the person who will eat them?

Aflatoxins can "settle" in these products. The main types of aflatoxins: B1, B2, G, G2. Also hazardous to health are their metabolic products that appear in the body of animals fed with aflatoxin-contaminated feed. There are more of them: M, M2, B2a, G2a, GM1, P1, Q1. Aflatoxins can appear in various types of products as a result of improper storage.

This mycotoxin thrives especially in warm climates. It should be noted that it is not always possible to notice colonies of this fungus, for example, on corn, especially if the infection is at an early stage. Only individual grains may be affected, or colonies may be in the spaces between them. This leads to the fact that contaminated products get into the feed of animals, harm them themselves, and then the people who eat the meat of these animals.

Ochratoxin A-secreting molds usually appear as a blue or green coating on food, and sometimes colonies look like clusters of fine filaments.

Like many other mycotoxins, ochratoxin A is not affected by temperature, so even heating or boiling contaminated food will not neutralize its effect.

Health

Mold. In almost any person, this phenomenon, which is closely adjacent to us throughout our life, causes reflex disgust. At the same time, each of us is faced with mold almost every day.... It happens that it is enough to open the refrigerator and fish out from its distant corners some half-forgotten jars of jam, tomato sauce, the contents of which are covered with a bluish-green fluff. Or find a piece of pizza, lemon, or other food that is also affected by mold after several days of storage left in a plate. Usually, people try to carefully get rid of such finds, trying not to touch the slippery film even with the tip of their finger.

But what happens if such mold is allowed to develop? It is a well-known thing - it will fill any surface, cover the entire refrigerator, the table in the kitchen, or even the kitchen itself. And meanwhile, mold is a storehouse of toxins, many of which are deadly... That is why people try to get rid of mold as quickly as possible, remove it in all possible and impossible ways. However, some carefully cut off moldy pieces, or remove the moldy surface layer with a spoon, in order to use the product as intended - to eat it.

Mold as a source of food and health

It's no secret that there is mold that is used to ripen certain foods that you can eat. This is the so-called benign mold, thanks to which many products were born that we consume for food. The most famous mold product that has saved and continues to save millions of lives on the planet is penicillin, which comes from a mold called penicillium notatum... Cheese is another well-known product that originated from mold and bacteria. Incidentally, a similar form of mold to penicillium notatum is penicillium camemberti- used to ripen the famous Roquefort cheese, which is the world's most famous blue cheese - mold creates blue, wreath-like veins in this product.

Precautions

Does all of the above mean that we should stop reacting so strongly to mold that appears on food? Studies show yes and no. For example, with regard to hard cheeses, fruits and vegetables, then, according to some experts, it is enough to cut off a layer of about 3 centimeters from the surface tainted by mold to save the product... After that, you can eat it without any fear. At the same time, in no case should you eat so-called soft foods tainted with mold - sausages, cooked meat, noodles, yogurt, sour cream, jelly, soft cheeses, bread, soft fruits and vegetables and many other products. Experts also urge to be careful with respect to mold on the surface of legumes., since it is extremely toxic, and therefore dangerous. Basically, mold in small quantities produces the so-called microtoxins, due to which it is quite possible to get sick.

However, in order to protect yourself from any health problems due to mold, it is better to immediately refuse food spoiled by it, regardless of whether it is a hard product or a soft one. Moreover, experts advise cutting off a thin layer from a large piece, for example, sausage and throwing it away if the product has been in the refrigerator for some time, although mold is not visually present on it. As the saying goes, God protects those who are careful!

Ecology of consumption. Food and drink: Often, vegetables that are moldy on one side end up in the fridge ...

Often, vegetables that are moldy on one side are in the refrigerator, and bread is slightly moldy in the bread bin. Is it okay to eat these foods (at least from the side where the mold is not visible)?

Is a small amount of mold in the corner of the loaf really a sentence for him or just an annoying little thing that should not be paid much attention to?

Most of the mold is not visible,

therefore - throw away the whole piece

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Marianne Gravely, Lead Specialist at the United States Department of Agriculture says: "We do not recommend cutting off moldy pieces and eating bread - mold cells can easily penetrate the whole product and even if you cannot see them, they are most likely to be found throughout the whole piece of bread."

Mold - these are small fungi, when viewed under a microscope - they easily penetrate into the product and often simply cannot be seen with the naked eye. That's why you can never be sure how deep the mold has settled in your loaf.

By the way, if the bread was immediately pre-sliced, this somewhat prevents the spread of mold throughout the piece, but again does not guarantee your safety. Therefore, just in case, feel free to throw away pieces of food with mold.

Certain types of mold (like mushrooms) are edible, like gorgonzola cheese, but moldy bread is not the best source of extra fiber.

Don't sniff mold

People who eat mold can suffer from allergic reactions and respiratory problems, Gravely said. Even inhaling mold spores can be dangerous.

What to throw away immediately and what not

The softer the food, the easier it is for mold to penetrate the entire piece of food. Therefore, bread, soft fruits, meat, jams, moldy even from one edge - immediately go to the trash can.

On the site today.com led Examples of foods that need to be thrown away when even a small amount of mold appears on them:

• hot dogs,
• bacon,
• casseroles,
• paste,
• yogurt,
• jams,
• cooked meat,
• bread,
• nut butter,
• any soft cheese,
• leftover food.

but the harder the food, the more likely it is that mold can be removed and continued to eat those foods... Gravely says hard cheeses and vegetables (such as carrots, cabbage) and other harder foods can be cleaned of mold. (with a good margin for the possible penetration of mold spores - Gravely writes about a 1-inch buffer) and eat.

Also, if one of the strawberries in the package is moldy, you do not need to throw out the entire pack, just make sure that the mold has not penetrated the rest of the berries.

By the way, if you often get mold, try washing the refrigerator more often - this also helps the food to keep longer. published . If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to the specialists and readers of our project .