Do you know what to do to prevent mold growth in foods? Stating that molds, yeasts and bacteria can easily develop and deteriorate the quality of the food if the products are not packaged and stored in appropriate conditions, experts state that if the moldy food has a hard structure, it can be cleaned and consumed, but if the food has a soft structure, it must be destroyed under appropriate conditions.
Food Engineer Selen Akbulut emphasizes that molds can easily develop in high humidity and oxygenated environments, and recommends that the refrigerator should be cleaned regularly, the hygiene of the storage containers should be paid attention to and the leftover food should be consumed without losing time in order to prevent its formation. Akbulut recommends that if black and red spots are seen in special green mold cheeses, these cheeses should not be consumed.
Mold on the surface begins to form from the substrate
Molds have a very important place in food microbiology, especially in food spoilage. Food Engineer Selen Akbulut said, “Foods are an invaluable source for the development of microorganisms with the diversity of the components they contain and the water they contain. For this reason, especially molds, yeasts and bacteria can easily develop and deteriorate the quality of the food if the products are not packaged and stored under appropriate conditions. Many consumers can find mold on the surfaces of their food, even if they are refrigerated or stored in suitable conditions. In fact, although we can only see it on the surface, this formation has reached the upper part from the lower layers of the food. So this is just the visible part of the molds.” said.
HOW CAN MOLD FOOD BE CLEANED AND CONSUMED?
Food Engineer Selen Akbulut, ‘Can the mold on the surface of a food that has mold on the surface be cleaned and reused?’He says that the basic answer to the question is hidden in the quality of the food.
- “If the food has a hard structure, mold fungi cannot penetrate deep into the food. Therefore, there is no problem in cutting and using moldy parts. On the contrary, we can re-evaluate our food with an approach that prevents food waste.
- If the food has a soft texture, unfortunately, it will not be enough to clean the molds on the surface. These foodstuffs need to be disposed of properly.”
WHAT ARE THE DAMAGES OF CONSUMING MOLDY FOOD?
Consumption of such moldy foods also causes toxicological formations created by molds called ‘mycotoxin’ to be taken into the body. These substances accumulate in our body over time and play a role in the formation of chronic diseases, especially cancer types.
If our food has a soft texture, then the consumption of these foods definitely puts the health of the consumer at risk, since mold will spread throughout the food and will also create an environment that will help not only its own development but also the development of other food pathogens.
These foods do not meet the definition of “safe food”. For this reason, the contact of these foods with other consumable foods should be cut and destroyed immediately.”
HOW CAN YOU PREVENT MOLD?
Stating that molds can easily grow in high humidity and oxygenated environments due to their nature, Food Engineer Selen Akbulut said, “Since molds are organisms that reproduce by spores, these spore cells can easily be carried on other foods by air and spoil them. Most of the time, even if we think that our food is safe when we store it in the refrigerator, we witness it moldy.” He says, and lists the things that should be done to store food more safely, with a few items as follows:
- Refrigerator interior cleaning should be done regularly,
- High humidity formation should be prevented in the areas where we store food,
- Storage containers should be hygienic against mold formation and their mouths should be well closed,
- Leftover food should be consumed without losing much time,
- The kitchen should be ventilated regularly.
- If there are black and red spots, it should not be consumed.
