Moldy Food: To Salvage or Throw Away?

While reducing food waste is important, when it comes to mold, safety should be our top priority rather than saving food. Mold not only can spur allergic reactions but also make us ill. Mold belongs to the kingdom of fungi and tends to thrive in environments where moisture and oxygen are present. While it is related to mushrooms, mold has a different structure and life cycle. Mold consists of a network of thread-like structures called hyphae, which can penetrate the foods it inhabits.

Bread's porous nature offers no defense against mold's relentless growth. Thus, simply cutting away the moldy portion is often insufficient to rid the bread of contamination, as the mold's presence can extend within the remaining portion. The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service strongly recommends disposing of the entire loaf when mold takes hold. This principle applies not only to bread but also to other moisture-rich foods, such as cooked leftovers, vegan yogurt, jams, and delicate fruits and vegetables like cucumbers, peaches, and tomatoes.

Because mold spores are airborne, it's important not to sniff moldy bread or other mold-contaminated items to prevent inhaling the spores. Mycotoxins prove resilient and are not easily eliminated from food, even when exposed to high temperatures during food processing, such as roasting, baking, or frying. Consuming foods contaminated with mycotoxins can result in acute gastrointestinal issues like vomiting and diarrhea.

Aflatoxins are typically found in tropical regions with high temperatures and humidity. They can appear in a variety of foods, such as groundnuts, tree nuts, maize, rice, figs, spices, and cocoa beans.

On the other hand, hard foods like cabbage and carrots are more salvageable due to their firm structure, which make it harder for mold to infiltrate deeply. If you encounter mold on fruits or vegetables that are hard, you can take steps to salvage them. An article on healthline.com, a health information site, recommends the removal of at least 2.5 centimeters around and below the moldy area. This helps remove any potential unseen contamination. After trimming, thoroughly wash the remaining portions before consumption to minimize the risk. Additionally, when disposing of moldy food, securely wrap it in a sealed bag to prevent airborne mold from spreading to other items in your kitchen.

Now that we've explored how to handle foods with mold, let's shift our focus to preventing molds from developing on food or making them less susceptible to mold before they spoil…