1
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:07,080
Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

2
00:00:07,120 --> 00:00:10,440
Speaker 1: Lauren bog obam Here, it's happened to all of us.

3
00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,000
Speaker 1: That fresh peach you were so excited to eat is

4
00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,320
Speaker 1: suddenly sporting a dime sized growth of fuzzy white stuff.

5
00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:18,759
Speaker 1: Or your last couple of slices of sandwich bread have

6
00:00:18,840 --> 00:00:21,960
Speaker 1: sprouted a few tiny flecks of green? Is it safe

7
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,800
Speaker 1: to just trim off the unappealing area and consume the rest.

8
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,440
Speaker 1: Mold on the surface of food usually appears as a

9
00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:31,280
Speaker 1: green or white area, often fuzzy and texture. It can

10
00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,400
Speaker 1: be widespread or appear to be isolated on just one section,

11
00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,120
Speaker 1: and while it may look like the growth is only

12
00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:40,040
Speaker 1: on the surface, mold is a fungus with a structure

13
00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:44,520
Speaker 1: similar to a plant, roots, a stock, and spores. The roots,

14
00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,480
Speaker 1: often invisible to the naked eye, can grow quite deep.

15
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,040
Speaker 1: The stock and spores are what you see on the surface,

16
00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,479
Speaker 1: and the spores can go airborne, which can cause the

17
00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,000
Speaker 1: mold to spread on the current object or contaminate neighboring foods.

18
00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,000
Speaker 1: You've heard the expression in one bad apple spoils the barrel. Often,

19
00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,680
Speaker 1: if mold develops on one piece of food, it quickly

20
00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,839
Speaker 1: spreads to other nearby food. Not all molds are bad,

21
00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:11,240
Speaker 1: and some are normal and even desirable. Some cheeses, such

22
00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,240
Speaker 1: as roquefort, are speckled with characteristic blue green veins. To

23
00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:19,040
Speaker 1: achieve this quality, cheesemakers introduce a friendly, edible type of

24
00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:23,040
Speaker 1: mold during the manufacturing process. The resulting cheeses are perfectly

25
00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,960
Speaker 1: safe to eat, uniquely creamy and very popular, although admittedly

26
00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,440
Speaker 1: boast a funky and acquired taste. But other molds can

27
00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,760
Speaker 1: cause problems. Some cause allergic reactions or induce respiratory distress,

28
00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,560
Speaker 1: which is why you shouldn't sniff at a moldy product.

29
00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:42,520
Speaker 1: And some molds produce poisonous substances called mycotoxins, which can

30
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:46,600
Speaker 1: cause serious illness. So what about that tasty peach you

31
00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,800
Speaker 1: were looking forward to. Because of its soft texture and

32
00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:54,240
Speaker 1: high moisture content, it's likely that further invisible contamination exists

33
00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:57,640
Speaker 1: beyond just the surface. It's safer to send that item

34
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,000
Speaker 1: to the compost bin than risk illness. For complete guidelines

35
00:02:02,040 --> 00:02:04,880
Speaker 1: on what foods are safe and aren't based on current research,

36
00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,280
Speaker 1: it's best to check with your government's food safety education resources.

37
00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:11,840
Speaker 1: For example, the United States Department of Agricultures. Food Safety

38
00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:14,600
Speaker 1: and Inspection Service has a great guide at f s

39
00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:18,480
Speaker 1: i S dot USDA dot gov. But here's a starter

40
00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:21,840
Speaker 1: guide on which moldy foods to toss and which to trim,

41
00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:24,760
Speaker 1: because while not all moldy foods are a total loss,

42
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,800
Speaker 1: some should be skipped. Foods that are soft and moist

43
00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:30,080
Speaker 1: are the most likely to be dangerous because the mold

44
00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:33,239
Speaker 1: may be growing deeper into the product than it appears.

45
00:02:33,280 --> 00:02:37,200
Speaker 1: So if you see mold on the following tassum lunch meats, bacon,

46
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,960
Speaker 1: hot dogs, cooked casseroles, cooked grains or pasta, breads and

47
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,040
Speaker 1: other baked goods, soft fruits and vegetables like a cucumbers,

48
00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:48,200
Speaker 1: tomatoes or berries, jams and jellies, peanut butter, other lagoons

49
00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,800
Speaker 1: like beans, nuts, soft cheeses, yogurt, and sour cream. Some

50
00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,280
Speaker 1: of these, particularly grain based products and certain produce tend

51
00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,760
Speaker 1: to harbor molds that are particularly insidious because, as byproducts

52
00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:03,240
Speaker 1: of liveing, they produce those mico toxins, which are poisonous.

53
00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:05,560
Speaker 1: They can give you a really bad day or even

54
00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:10,359
Speaker 1: contribute to diseases like cancer. While moldy cold cuts and

55
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,560
Speaker 1: lunch meats should be discarded hard salami and dry cured

56
00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,440
Speaker 1: ham are an exception. For these items, you can safely

57
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:20,359
Speaker 1: scrub the surface, removing the mold completely. For hard cheeses

58
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,320
Speaker 1: and hard fruits and vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and bell peppers,

59
00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,320
Speaker 1: the food can be consumed after you trim away the mold.

60
00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:28,600
Speaker 1: Be sure to trim at least an itch that's about

61
00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,080
Speaker 1: two and a half centimeters around the offending area, and

62
00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:33,520
Speaker 1: take care to avoid letting the knife make contact with

63
00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:36,000
Speaker 1: the mold. If it does, stop and wash it with

64
00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,360
Speaker 1: hot soap and water to avoid cross contamination. It may

65
00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,080
Speaker 1: be disappointing to toss out whole products, but it's always

66
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:49,600
Speaker 1: better to err on the side of caution. Today's episode

67
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,880
Speaker 1: was written by Debbie Swanson and produced by Tyler Clang.

68
00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,640
Speaker 1: Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio's How Stuff Works.

69
00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:56,680
Speaker 1: For more on this and lots of other fresh topics,

70
00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com, and

71
00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,480
Speaker 1: for more pot cast from my heart Radio, visit the

72
00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,160
Speaker 1: I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

73
00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:16,320
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows. H