Family Living. Focus by Mary Alice Gettings Beaver Co. Extension Agent With the purchase of more fresh fruits and vegetables in the summer and the warm tempera tures, those fuzzy creatures called molds seem to be more frequent. While this is a very common problem, it does not necessarily have a simple answer. What you do concerning the mold depends on the type of food. Mold usually gets a “bad rap.” Believe it or not, there are “good” molds. Molds considered benefi cial and safe are those needed to make many cheeses. For exam ple, it is normal to have mold in side of Roquefort and Gorgonzo la and on the surface of Brie and Camembert. What is not normal is to have molds on cheeses like cheddar, mozzarella, and provo lone. If you did not buy it with mold, it should not be eaten with mold. Molds are threadlike organ isms (fungi) that live on plant or tjjo" June 27* 2003 Friday 5:30-8:30 PM only June 28, 2003 Saturday 7:OOAM-? (rain or shine) oVS co & make you sick. The poisonous toxins that are formed are'called mycotoxins and can be found in grain and nut crops, along with celery, grape juice, apples, and other produce. The most well known myco toxin is aflatoxin, a cancer-caus ing poison found in field com and peanuts. The United States Department of Agriculture moni tors these two foods for aflatoxin and will remove any with unac ceptable levels. So what do you do with the cheese in your refrigerator that has mold on it? If it is a hard cheese, like cheddar, cut off at least one inch around and below the mold. It is important to keep the knife away from the mold so that it does not cross-contami nate an area that is mold-free. If the cheese was made with mold, but it has additional growth on the inside as compared to when you purchased it, throw it away. If the mold is on the surface of these cheeses, handle it like you would hard cheese. Soft cheeses, like cottage and cream, along with crumbled, shredded, and sliced cheeses should be thrown away. When it comes to firm fruits and vegetables with low-moisture content, like cabbage, carrots, and apples, you can cut away one inch around and below the mold. If mold is found on soft fruits smsE»^sBS6 Retail or ’ D( can install u St >p by our ihoWnoom for a free>estimatel» A u-v v i\\ ' " "'I 'K'}. # A\W N •i). m H Y'MjiV'i J».« v • V- 4* ' Cincafeter Farmlrtg, Saturday, JUne*2l, 2003-B7 and vegetables with high-mois ture content, like peaches, cu cumbers, and tomatoes, the entire piece of fruit should be thrown away. Fruits and vegetables that become moldy in a bag should also be discarded. While most meats with mold should be thrown away, hard salami and dry-cured country hams can be safely eaten if you scrub the mold off the surface. Almost any food can grow mold. The following is a list of foods you should immediately discard if mold is found on them: luncheon meats, bacon, and hot dogs cooked leftover meat, poul try, and casseroles cooked grain and pasta yogurt and sour cream jams and jellies soft fruits and vegetables bread and baked goods peanut butter, legumes, and nuts There are several measures you can take to minimize mold growth. Cleanliness is vital in controlling these nasty creatures, which can build up in your refrig erator and on dishcloths. A few simple practices will help you to minimize their growth. First, clean the inside of your refrigera tor every few months with one ta blespoon of baking soda dissolved in one quart of water. Rinse it with clear water and allow to dry. If mold is visible, scrub it with “We were able to develop an three teaspoons of unscented excellent product with fresh bleach mixed with one quart of apple flavor and extended shelf water. Second, keep cleaning iif e> ” oiga Padilla-Zakour, supplies, like dishcloths, towels, department of food science sponges, and mops, clean and technol at Cornell) who fresh. A musty smell means the . . , .. mold is And third, was the lead scientist for the proj . since molds like a humid envi- We were able to take advan ronment, fry to keep your house tag® °f umque ffavor profiles at 40 percent or less humidity. of New York apples and aft ' very For food safety, information, satisfied the result.’’ ‘ call ypur IpcakP-enn State Coop- , NFC appk\ juice by , «rative^Extensipn v flffice or check .. pressing apples for juice and then . out (.Penn, Safety The juice 'will .-be - gdble- USDA’§,,Mcal^ and Hot- „ vconttfiheW 1 Wifrl spodts at the imeaUBpW proposed Leßoyi>ldiit ah^^dld in the refrigerated section of su permarkets. tb “tby poten ttar tor NFC apple juice, more than five York-grown apples are expected to be utilized at the Leßoy plant when at full capacity for produc ing the NFC apple juice prod uct,” Fiss said. “Two major su permarket chains were asked to sample the product and both had extremely favorable reactions.” New NFC Apple Juice Developed ROCHESTER, N.Y. Cornell University food science and tech nology researchers at the New York State Agricultural Experi ment Station in Geneva, N.Y., have developed a 100 percent not-from-concentrate (NFC) fresh apple juice. The juice will be produced at IFF North America New York’s (IFPNANY) proposed fruit pro cessing and juice packaging plant in Leßoy, N.Y. “We’re thankful to the food scientists at Cornell for creating such a fantastic product,” said Herbert Fiss, IFPNANY presi dent. “Once consumers get a taste of it. I’m confident it will be a big hit in the market place. NFC apple juice is a premium quality product that promotes good health. According to recent medical reports, apples have been linked to reduced cancer risk, better lung function, positive im pact against LDL cholesterol, and numerous other health bene fits.” A lesion well teemed. Lancaster Farming's classified ads get results!