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
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animal matter and produce
spores. Unlike bacteria, molds
can be seen with the naked eye.
What you can’t distinguish are
the three different parts of the
mold the root threads, stalks, and
spores. The root threads are the
parts that invade the food that
the mold lives on, and you proba
bly won’t be able to see them be
cause they are so thin. When a
food shows heavy mold growth,
the root threads have invaded
deep into the food. The stalks rise
above the food, and the spores
form at the end of the stalks. Air,
water, and insects can transport
these spores. It is the various
spores that provide the different
colors of molds on food and that
allow the mold to reproduce
when spread to another area.
The reason seme molds can be
dangerous is due to the fact that
they produce toxins that can
spread throughout the food and
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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
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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.”
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