Cutting off green, fuzzy stuff won't always make food safe

Mold on food can be more than a nuisance. Some can cause allergic reactions and respiratory problems. A few molds, in the right conditions, produce poisonous substances called mycotoxins.

How can you tell if a mold is dangerous? You can't, and that's the problem. Some mold toxins are powerful even in small amounts and can survive for a long time in food. Some mold toxins aren't even destroyed by cooking. So you can't always safely scrape or cut the mold off the food.

How mold grows

Mold is a type of fungus. As it grows, the root threads invade the food it lives on, a stalk rises above the food and spores form at the ends of the stalks. The spores give the mold the color you see. When airborne, the spores spread the mold from place to place like dandelion seed. Once a food shows heavy mold growth, the root threads have invaded it deeply. In dangerous molds, the mycotoxins are often contained in and around these root threads. In soft foods, the toxins may have spread throughout the food.

How to minimize mold growth

Cleanliness is vital.

Clean the inside of your refrigerator every few months with one tablespoon of baking soda dissolved in a quart of warm water. Rinse and dry. If there is visible mold on rubber casings, scrub with three tablespoons of bleach in a quart of water.

Keep dishrags, sponges and mops clean and fresh. A musty smell means they're spreading mold around. Discard items you can't clean or launder.

Since mold spores are in the air, don't let food sit out uncovered. Wrap foods susceptible to mold, like cheese, before refrigerating.

Oh no ... there's mold on it

Don't sniff the moldy foods, because some molds can cause respiratory trouble.

If the food is covered with mold, discard it.

If the food shows only a tiny mold spot, follow these guidelines. Generally you can save hard or firm foods with only minor mold, but most soft or liquid foods showing mold should be discarded.

CHEESE: Some cheese is made with mold, but you might spot mold that shouldn't be there. In hard block cheeses, cut off at least an inch around and below the mold spot. Don't try to save individual cheese slices, soft cheese, cottage cheese, cream, sour cream or yogurt.

HARD SALAMIS AND COUNTRY HAM: If there is only a small spot of mold, cut off at least an inch around and below the spot. Discard moldy bacon, hot dogs, sliced lunch meats, meat pies or opened canned ham.

JAMS, JELLIES, SYRUPS: Discard if they show any mold growth. Experts now feel mold toxins can spread through this soft material quite rapidly.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES: Cut out small mold spots from the surface of firm fruits and vegetables (cabbage, peppers, carrots), but discard soft vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce) showing mold.

THROW AWAY ON SIGHT: Discard visibly moldy bread, cake, buns, pastry, corn on the cob, stored nuts, flour, whole grains, rice, dried peas and beans, and peanut butter. Molds growing on these foods can produce highly toxic substances.

Ryan is a consumer and family-education agent for Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. Contact the Springs extension office: 636-8920

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