Two of the most successful articles on Culinary Lore are about whether it is safe to remove the mold from bread or cheese and eat it. The answer for both is mixed so I’d recommend you read those articles if you want to know what to do about mold on either of these foods. But, of course, mold grows on all sorts of foods, so I thought I’d stop being lazy and write up a more comprehensive guide on how to handle mold on other types of food. Should you remove the moldy part and eat the food? Or should you throw it away?
Clearly, if a food item is covered in mold, like the mystery food pictured below, nobody in their right mind will attempt to remove the mold and eat the food. The same goes for any of the foods covered in this article. We are concerned with a small spot of mold or some mold on one part of a food item, not food that has gone completely moldy. Such food is never fit to eat.
Remember, unless it’s the mold in blue cheese, which is safe to eat (and so tasty), you should never consume mold. Some mold species produce mycotoxins that can make you sick. As well, you could have an allergic reaction to the mold and this could be severe.
Mold always forms spores, and these spores are the dusty part of the mold that will come off the mold and float in the air. This is how mold spreads and you can think of the spores like plant seeds. So, don’t sniff mold either, because the spores will get in your nose and may cause respiratory trouble or an allergic reaction.
When Can You Cut the Mold Off Food and Still Eat It?
As I explained in the other articles, most food-bourne mold grows thousands of thread-like tentacles. The mold may only be visible on the surface of the food, but depending on the type of food and its texture, these threads may reach deep into the food and may actually be present throughout all of it. Mycotoxins will tend to be present around where these tendrils grow. Since some foods are harder to penetrate than others, sometimes, these mold threads aren’t able to penetrate easily or deeply. So, for these types of foods, you may be able to cut the mold off the surface or cut away the moldy part, and still use the food. For other foods, you have to assume that if you see mold, it has already spread throughout the interior of the food.
The texture of a food is not the only criterion. Some foods have a much higher moisture content and thus will allow the growth of bacteria more quickly. When wetter foods become moldy, you can assume that bacteria are growing right along with the mold. Some bacteria may be ‘spoilage’ bacteria and will produce bad odors and taste. These bacteria may also produce toxic byproducts that can make you sick. As well, some of the bacteria, like salmonella, could be pathogenic, and directly infect your body when consumed. Dryer foods may develop some mold before they develop a lot of bacteria, and so may still be safe to eat after the mold is removed.
The following list will tell you when you can use moldy food (after cutting away the moldy part) and when you should discard it. I don’t blame you if you err on the side of caution and always throw away moldy food. But if you are frugal, or just very hungry, here is your guide on what to keep and what to throw out.
Contents
- Hard cheese
- Soft cheese
- Sliced, shredded, or crumbled cheese
- Cheeses made with mold
- Bread and other baked goods
- Cooked meat or poultry
- Lunch meat, bacon, hot dogs
- Hard salami and dry-cured ham
- Cooked grain and pasta
- Cooked casserole or mixed dish
- Yogurt and sour cream
- Jams and jellies
- Peanut butter
- Nuts
- Cooked beans and peas
- Fruits and vegetables
Moldy Food List: When to Use and When to Throw Away
Hard Cheese
See the full article on moldy cheese. You can cut away the moldy parts of hard cheese. Use a sharp knife and cut away at least one inch below and around the moldy spot. Do not let the knife touch the mold as you will transfer the mold to the clean part of the cheese. Wrap the cheese in fresh plastic wrap or place it in a fresh plastic bag after the mold is removed.
Soft Cheese
See the full article on moldy cheese. Discard soft cheese that has developed mold. Do not try to remove the mold and eat the cheese. This includes cream cheese, Neufchatel, brie, Camembert, ricotta, cottage, chevre, Bel Paese, etc. Soft cheese will probably be contaminated below the surface and will likely also contain bacteria.
Sliced, Shredded, or Crumbled Cheese
Discard any sliced, shredded, or crumbled cheese that has developed mold. It is likely to have mold contamination you cannot see and you will never be able to be sure it is all removed.
Cheeses Made With Mold
Some cheese, like blue cheese, is made with mold. Some of these are soft cheeses. If they develop a mold that looks different than the mold they came with, discard! This mold should be obvious as it will look like any other mold you’ve seen on food, with a dry, dusty look. Soft varieties include blue cheese, Roquefort blue, Brie, and Camembert.
Both Brie and Camembert, listed also under soft cheese, above, have a white or cream-colored mold that is sprayed on the surface during the ripening process. You should be able to see any mold growth that isn’t the mold intended but with any of these cheeses, if you are in doubt, just throw them out, following the rule for any soft cheese.
Gorgonzola and Stilton are hard cheeses but both have the blue veining characteristic of ‘blue cheese.’ If either of these develops obvious mold on the surface, you can follow the guidelines for hard cheeses, above, and cut it away.
Bread and Other Baked Goods
See the full bread article. Discard any moldy bread or baked product. Breads, pastries, and other bakery products are porous and, once you see visible mold growth, the mold will have penetrated deeply into the product.
Cooked meat or poultry
Discard leftover cooked meat or poultry. These foods may be contaminated with mold below the surface and may also have bacteria present with the mold.
Lunch Meat, Bacon, Hot Dogs
Discard moldy lunch meat, bacon, or hot dogs. These moist foods may be contaminated under the surface and will probably also harbor bacteria.
Hard salami and dry-cured ham
For hard salami and dry-cured ham, surface mold is normal. You may notice a white mold on the outside of salami. This is a penicillin mold similar to the types used in cheese like Brie or Camembert. This mold is actually protective and helps prevent other molds from taking hold, as well as bacteria. This mold is also safe to eat! Still, you can remove it if it gives you the heebie-jeebies. The best way to remove the mold from salami is to remove the casing itself. However, you can also just scrub off the mold. Sometimes, you may see other colors on newly purchased salami, like blue, green, gray, or yellow. This is a natural part of the fermentation process and mold-blooming process, so don’t be alarmed.
You may also find mold on dry-cured hams. Unlike salami, the ham is not (always) inoculated with mold as part of the curing process. Instead, the mold forms naturally during the long curing of the ham. This is normal and you do not have to throw it away. However, this may not be the kind of mold that is good to eat, so scrub it off the surface of the ham before eating it.
It is possible for a ham producer to ‘innoculate’ the curing chamber so that only the desired type of mold will grow preferentially, preventing the bad type. However, unless you know exactly where your ham came from and how it was produced, it’s best not to consume any mold you find on the surface.
Cooked Grain and Pasta
Don’t even think about it! Discard any cooked grains or pasta that have gone moldy. These foods will absolutely be contaminated with mold below the ‘surface.’
Cooked Casserole or Mixed Dish
And cooked casserole or leftover food with mixed contents, a high moisture content, and variable textures and surfaces, cannot be consumed if moldy. Discard. The mold will be present below the visible surfaces and will likely have spread throughout.
Yogurt and Sour Cream
Discard! You are probably learning that if the food is wet, you should throw it away when it gets moldy. Yogurt and sour cream will almost certainly be contaminated throughout even if only a small amount of mold is actually visible.
Jams and Jellies
Need you ask? Discard! Same reasons as far yogurt, sour cream, or any other soft and wet foods.
Peanut Butter
Discard moldy peanut butter. Do not attempt to remove the mold with a spoon. You will not be able to remove it and mold will likely have penetrated deeply into the jar of peanut butter.
Nuts
Discard moldy nuts. If you see mold on one nut, they are all contaminated. This includes tree nuts and peanuts.
Cooked beans and peas
Discard, absolutely. Same rule as for any wet food. Cooked beans and peas do not last long even in the fridge so if you keep them long enough for them to get moldy, you are keeping them much too long. Store cooked beans and other legumes in the fridge for 3 to 4 days at most. It will likely take longer than this for them to develop visible mold but by this time, they will probably smell pretty gross.
Fruits and Vegetables
The USDA recommends that you can remove some mold from ‘firm’ vegetables and render them safe to eat, but you should discard any soft vegetables that become moldy. While the USDA is generally a good source for this sort of information, the designation of a vegetable or fruit as firm or soft is much too inexact and subjective. They list three examples of firm vegetables and other sources on the web repeated these examples: carrots, bell peppers, and cabbage. According to this, you can cut any moldy spots off these vegetables and eat the rest, as mold will have a hard time penetrating further into these foods. That’s all fine and well, but designating a fruit or vegetable as firm or soft is not an exact science. What others are firm?
Correspondingly, according to the USDA, you should discard soft vegetables and fruits such as cucumbers, peaches, tomatoes, etc. What others are soft? Some soft fruits, like strawberries and blueberries, are obvious. But are oranges soft? The skin of an orange is firm, but the inside is not. It would not be possible to peel the moldy skin off an orange without contaminating the fruit inside. The same is true of almost all fruits.
Since the available information on the safety of mold on fruits and vegetables is incomplete, I would advise that in most cases, you should discard them once you spot any mold.