Mold in Food: When Is It OK?

All about mold

Mold is a special kind of fungus that has existed throughout the history of mankind. Molds are millions of years older than we are, and there are about as many species as there have been variations of the DNA genome in the history of mankind.

Mold's role in life is to be "sanitary," or janitor. The mold fungus recycles organic waste, from fallen leaves to feces, mineralizes it, decomposes it into carbon fractions, and thus enriches the soil. In fact, mold is responsible for the carbon cycle in nature. The fungus actually does important work.

To explain it simply, we can divide molds into two basic groups: "noble mold" and "noxious mold." The fundamental difference between the different types of mold is that they release different substances during the processing of or...