- Carrots
- Firm cheeses
- Pears
As a general rule of thumb, hard foods are harder for
mold to penetrate. Softer foods, like soft cheeses, are easier and cutting mold
away does not ensure you’ve gotten rid of the mold. So, if you’ve got some
grapes and there’s mold on a couple of them, throw the bunch away. Below is a
list of foods generally regarded as safe once you’ve cut away the mold:
Mold on hard fruit/veggies: Cut about ½ inch around the mold to get rid of it.
Hard cheese: cut
about ½-1 inch around mold, rewrap cheese with new covering
Hard salami/dry cured ham: OK to use, mold adds flavor to the salami, can scrub the mold off the coating of the ham.
Gorgonzola/Bleu cheese: Cut out the moldy spot.
However, once you’ve cut away the bad part and eaten your
fill, make sure to place the food in a new package, not the old package in
which it was previously stored. This is because there could be traces of mold
left behind that will contaminate the cheese and/or food. You should also clean
the entire vegetable bin if you’ve found a piece with mold on it.
Not OK, even if there’s just a bit of mold:
- Brie, Camembert
- Hot dogs
- Bacon
- Casseroles
- Leftovers
- Pasta
- Jams/jellies
- Yogurt/sour cream
- Lunch meat
- Cooked meats
- Soft fruits/ veggies/ even mold on orange rinds
- Bread/baked goods
- Sliced, shredded, cubed cheese
- Nuts/nut butters
Finally,
according to the USDA, you can minimize mold growth by:
- Using leftovers within 3 to 4 days.
- Cleaning your refrigerator every few months with 1 tablespoon baking soda dissolved in a quart of water.
- Scrubbing visible mold using 3 teaspoons of bleach in a quart of water.
For more information on food safety, food safety inspections, and food
safety courses, please visit our Food
Safety website.
No comments:
Post a Comment