Think It’s Safe to Pick Off the Mold From Bread and Eat the “Good” Part? Think Again.

We’ve all done this thing even though we rarely want to admit it. You open the bread drawer, you take two slices for a sandwich and there it is, lurking on the surface, a small circle of bluish-greenish mold. The dinner destroyer!

But who cares, it’s just a small spot, I’ll take it out and eat the “good part”, what’s the worst that can happen? We’re not going to let a single mold dot ruin a whole piece of bread.

Well, if you’ve done this, you might want to reconsider for the future, because the USDA advises people to throw out a whole loaf of bread at the first sign of mold, no matter how big or small it is.

Even though we know we’re wasting food, unfortunately it’ not safe to eat bread with even at the slightest speck of mold. That’s because recent studies have shown that mold has long, threadlike roots that invade the entire food they grow on, not just the surface. These microscopic fungi can even cause allergy and respiratory issues for some people. There are different types of mold; some may even produce toxic and dangerous substances such as mycotoxins, which can have a detrimental effect on our overall health. The worst of these substances, aflatoxin, can even cause liver cancer.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service advises us that if we don’t want to throw away the an entire loaf of bread, cut a big chunk around the mold and make sure you got all the mold out. But still, this shouldn’t be a common practice because there are certain bacteria which you can’t see with the naked eye. The best recommendation is to put the bread in a bag and throw away immediately to prevent toxins from being released in the air.

The only time you can safely remove just the mold and consume the rest is when it appears on hard salami, you can safely remove it and eat the rest. The mold in some cheeses, such as Brie, is placed there on purpose, so it’s safe to eat.

Warning: Never sniff mold once you see it on your food, this can directly lead to breathing problems. Once you throw out the moldy food wipe the surface thoroughly to make sure there are no bacteria left to spread.

Source: www.mrhealthylife.com