You take a bite into a sandwich and immediately know something is wrong.
There is an awful taste in your mouth, and when you pull the sandwich away to look at
it, you notice patches of white and black spots all over the bread.
You’ve just eaten mold.
You might be okay, or you might die.
It all depends on what type of mold you just consumed.
There are definitely molds that can cause you serious illness, or even kill you.
However, there are also harmless and even helpful molds.
In fact, one type of mold has even saved countless lives, including yours.
Molds are a type of fungi meaning that they are in the same kingdom of living things as
mushrooms.
They reproduce and travel by spore and consume organic material.
This is super helpful in nature because mold helps decompose dead organisms, so we aren’t
up to our heads in the remains of deceased plants and animals.
But mold has a more sinister side as well.
Depending on the type of mold you consumed, it can cause your body some serious harm.
Then again, some of the food we eat literally uses mold in its creation process.
There are hundreds of thousands of different types of mold.
You are likely breathing in some mold spores right now, but don’t worry, they won’t
harm you.
In fact, it is rarely the mold organism itself that harms you.
Instead, it is the toxins that they secrete as part of their biological processes that
can cause serious damage.
The most likely way of ingesting a harmful mold is by eating food that has begun to decompose
and is covered in the fungus.
The only time mold can be dangerous is once it has started growing and matured.
Spores do not release toxins, so breathing in a spore here or there should not be a concern—unless
you have an allergy to that specific spore, or ingest a lot of spores all at once.
Eating an entire piece of moldy fruit or bread should definitely be a concern however.
Once you can spot or taste mold, it is fully mature, and can release some pretty nasty
toxins into your body.
The spores floating in the air all around us are just looking for a place to land, grow,
and reproduce.
Unfortunately, one of the best breeding grounds for molds is food that has been left out at
room temperature.
Although, mold is pretty hardy, and can grow in some extreme environments as well, which
includes the cooler temperature of your fridge.
We want to take this time to give you a warning before we get into the real scary stuff.
Eating around mold, or cutting off a moldy part of a food and eating the rest of it,
is not the best idea.
So, please don’t do this.
It is likely that the mold has spread to more of the food than you can see with the naked
eye.
Your safest bet when you notice a piece of food has mold growing on it is to just throw
it away and eat something else.
Experts recommend that you should definitely throw away foods like breads, fruits, vegetables,
deli meats, yogurt, peanut butters, and jellies that have mold growing on them because this
is where some of the most harmful molds like to hang out.
But what will happen to you if you disregard this warning?
Or what should you do if you accidentally eat a moldy piece of food without realizing
it?
The first thing you should do is immediately throw away the moldy food so no one else makes
the same mistake.
Next, monitor how you feel.
If you start developing particular symptoms, you should immediately seek medical attention.
If you start feeling nauseous or fatigued that is a warning sign that the mold you ate
is releasing toxins into your body.
Some of these toxins can be mild, and may not cause any harm.
Others can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and the sweats, which are all similar to food poisoning.
However, there are some toxins that can cause serious problems, which could lead to certain
organs failing and even death.
Many of these types of chemicals are called mycotoxins.
One of the most deadly is aflatoxins, which are produced by certain molds that grow in
soil, decaying vegetables, and grains.
This means that if you eat moldy veggies or cereal, you should monitor your body because
this toxin could lead to some terrible long term effects.
Aflatoxins poison the cells of the body and are known to damage the DNA within those cells.
This damage can cause mutations, which could lead to cancer.
The most common form of cancer that results from aflatoxins is in the liver.
Therefore, it is always best to just throw out moldy food as you definitely don’t want
to ingest a mold that can release aflatoxins into your body.
A different toxin created by molds belonging to the Aspergillus family is ochratoxin A.
However, this toxin is also produced by several other species of mold as well.
The most common foods that might contain molds which produce ochratoxin A are cereals, coffee
beans, grape juices, and spices.
When ochratoxin A is released into the body it can cause kidney damage.
There is also some research to suggest it may negatively affect fetal development as
well.
One last toxin that is released by certain deadly molds is patulin.
The molds that produce this toxin are mainly found in apples, but can also inhabit other
moldy fruits and grains.
The patulin toxin can cause liver, spleen, and kidney damage within humans.
Its toxicity can also disrupt the immune system, which leads to all sorts of other complications.
Patulin toxins initially cause vomiting and other gastrointestinal problems before escalating
into more serious illnesses.
It is not very likely that if you consume mold it is the type that contains these toxins,
but it is not out of the realm of possibility.
This is why it’s always important to monitor how you feel if you realize you’ve consumed
some moldy food.
Also, we can’t stress this enough: if you see that there is mold growing all over a
piece of food, do not eat it.
It is better to be safe than sorry.
Although some molds can be dangerous, this is not always the case.
In fact, some of the foods you consume are even made using mold.
Granted, the type and amount of mold is closely monitored, but without it, we would not have
things like cheese, salami, or even some wines.
If you’ve ever had blue cheese before you’ve eaten moldy cheese.
Don’t worry though, the type of mold in this cheese is harmless.
Mold is sometimes introduced in the final stages of cheese making to give the food a
unique and often powerful taste, or a consistency that is less rubbery and more soft.
During the end of the creation process mold will be placed on the surface of the cheese,
and as it eats and reproduces its way through the substance it breaks down the lactic acids,
which then softens and gives flavor to the cheese.
The most common type of mold used in making cheeses is penicillium.
You may recognize this type of mold as it is also used to make penicillin, which was
the first antibiotic used to kill harmful bacteria.
If you enjoy brie cheese, it is mold that gives it its soft, creamy, texture.
Without this mold cheeses would be tough and sour.
Another food that uses mold in the creation process is salami.
European butchers initially used mold to dry and cure meats . Again, the mold used in this
process is penicillium.
The butchers allow the mold to grow on the outer casing of the meat to protect it from
any other harmful molds or bacteria that may want to use it as a breeding ground.
The penicillium mold also protects the fats in the meat from oxidizing and spoiling.
Most meat today uses other processes to be dried and cured, but some butchers still follow
the traditional ways of using mold as a means to make their meats last longer and retain
their delicious flavors.
You know what goes well with cheese and cured meats?
Wine.
Surprisingly mold can even play an important process in the creation of this alcoholic
beverage.
The fungus Botrytis cinerea is a mold that causes grapes to dehydrate and shrivel . This
increases the concentration of sugars in the fruit, and allows for a unique fermentation
process.
This can give certain wines a little bit of a sweeter taste, or a honey-like flavor.
Some vineyards intentionally “botrytize,” or infect their grapes with mold, to produce
Rieslings and Aszù wines.
A word of caution though; sometimes using moldy grapes in the wine making process can
lead to a disease aptly named “winemaker’s lung.”
If not maintained properly the toxins released by the mold can cause hypersensitive pneumonitis,
which inflames a person’s lungs, and can make breathing extremely difficult.
Helpful mold is also used in the creation of vinegar and Japanese sake, so you can find
it in a variety of different foods and beverages from around the world.
As mentioned before, it is also important to remember that some mold such as penicillium
is incredibly beneficial as medicine.
Some species of the penicillium mold produce a chemical that prevents bacteria from constructing
protective walls around themselves.
Without this structure to hold the bacteria together it bursts, killing the organism and
rendering it harmless.
Since human cells do not make their cell membranes in the same way as bacteria, they are left
unharmed by the chemical created by the penicillium mold.
This is why penicillin can be such an effective antibiotic.
However, due to the ability of bacteria to evolve quickly and become resistant to antibiotics,
scientists continually need to find new ways to destroy the harmful bacteria that infect
humans.
So, mold can be harmful, but it can also be beneficial.
However, the mold growing on the food in your fridge, or food that has been left out for
too long, is never beneficial.
So just throw that stuff away.
And if you start developing symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, or the sweats after consuming
some moldy food, you should go see a doctor.
At this point you might be wondering what the best ways to keep mold away are so your
food doesn’t go bad, and you don’t get sick.
There are a few easy things you can do to make sure mold doesn’t plague you.
First, keep things clean, especially your fridge.
This means throwing out expired foods and wiping down the fridge with a cleaning solution
to kill any spores that may be hanging out in your appliances.
Keeping fruits, veggies, and even bread in a clean fridge can also help extend their
shelf life, and keep them mold free for longer.
Something to keep in mind is that mold is everywhere.
All food will become moldy at some point.
Some food is more resilient to mold than others, but it is an inevitable process of life that
decomposition will eventually occur, and one of the organisms responsible for this process
is mold.
And while cleaning is very important, you need to make sure you are using fresh towels
or sponges.
If damp cloth is left out, mold can begin to grow on them.
This means when you go to wipe something down you could be spreading mold around.
This kind of defeats the purpose of cleaning, so make sure to regularly use fresh towels
and sponges to prevent inadvertently spreading mold around your kitchen.
Lastly, if you know you’re not going to eat something for a long time, throw it in
the freezer.
The low temperatures make it almost impossible for mold to grow on the food.
Then when you’re ready to eat it, defrost, and immediately cook the food.
This should ensure you can keep food mold free even for long periods of time.
Now watch “What Happens To Your Body When You Don't Eat (Fast).”
Or check out “What Would Happen If You Only Ate Meat and Nothing Else?”