What Happens When You Accidentally Eat Food With Mold

What Happens When You Accidentally Eat Food With Mold..

It’s a question that we’ve all pondered over on occasion, especially when you come dangerously close to putting a spoon or handful of food into your mouth, only noticing the mold just in time. But, for the many times when we do notice mold on food in time, there are many more occasions when we accidentally ingest moldy food only to realize our mistake after chewing on it, swallowing it, or worse still, the next day.
But is mold something that you really need to worry about ingesting? Can’t you just cut away the ends of that moldy slice of bread or cake and eat the rest? After all, when you sneak home past 12, you can’t really order a pizza – you have to make do with what’s around.

What Happens When You Eat Mold

“Ingestion of mold can cause severe food poisoning, but some types of mold are also known cause cancer”

Accidentally eating food with mold on it is no cause for extreme panic, but you can be sure that it will cause you considerable discomfort. You are extremely unlikely to die or experience severe illness from mold ingestion, but you could suffer severe food poisoning, nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting.

The side effects of mold ingestion are a lot more serious for individuals with mold allergies though, as it can also cause respiratory distress, eye irritation, and hives. However, all of these effects are temporary and should not cause much concern. What’s worrying are the long term risks from eating moldy food.
Some varieties of mold produce a poisonous substance called myctoxins, which can cause illness in humans, as well as other animals. The most dangerous of these mycotoxins, called aflatoxin, grows on grains and nut crops, both common ingredients in bread. This substance is known to cause cancer and food production facilities across the world are monitored for aflatoxin to ensure safety.

Despite these efforts, the goal of eradicating the mold is nowhere close to being achieved.

Can You Eat Around The Mold?

“Mold has roots like threads that go deep into the food, so cutting away at the moldy edges will not get rid of all the toxins”

Your parents may have warned you against eating food with mold on several occasions, but like most Indian parents who don’t want to ‘waste the bloody food’, they probably raised you to eat around the mold. Yes, cutting away at the moldy edges to get to the seemingly unscathed center.

Unfortunately, this is not a safe practice as you could still be ingesting part of the fungal growth. This is because mold has roots like threads that go deep into the food. Simply removing bits where the mold is visible on the surface will not do the job. To play it safe, it would be best to simply toss out any moldy food.

If you’re still looking for ways to save that food, heat may sound like a good idea, as theoretically heat can kill mold. Sadly, toasting your bread to a crisp does not guarantee complete destruction of mold and it really isn’t worth the risk.

Our Advice

While food wastage is certainly something that should be firmly discouraged, discarding spoilt or contaminated food does not constitute wastage, it’s simply common sense. So, the next time you notice that blue, green, or grey mold appearing on bread, cake, cheese, or any other food, don’t put it in your belly!