Although, in general, it is not dangerous to accidentally eat moldy food, it is always advisable to throw away the affected food, since consuming it can cause digestive discomfort, vomiting, diarrhea, headache or respiratory problems, especially if you have the system weakened immune.
In addition, the mycotoxins contained in some molds can be very dangerous to health, and cause, due to long-term exposure to these substances, kidney problems, hormonal metabolism and even cancer, as a warning. AESAN, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition.
–
Throwing away the whole food is, therefore, the safest, because, although we do not see the mold only in some specific areas, it is likely that the mold has spread throughout the food thanks to the hyphae, which are the roots thanks to the that fungi spread through food and are invisible to the human eye. These hyphae spread rapidly, especially in soft, liquid or very water-rich foods such as broths, stews, fruits, bread, etc. But what about harder foods, like cold cuts? Is it also recommended to throw it away whole? In this case, the TO FATHER allows us to make an exception.
Some cold cuts and cheeses, the exception
When it comes to hard, very turgid and dehydrated foods, fungi expand more slowly and it may be the case that, if mold is present only in a small part, we can save part of it without fear that the rest is contaminated .
The exceptions son:
• Hard sausages or ham. If we find mold in the jerky, salami, fuet or ham, we can save the food after removing the mold well. If, even after removing it, we notice that the sausage does not taste as usual, it is better to discard it anyway. But this exception is only for very hard sausages, because in the case of cold cuts such as sausages, mortadella, bacon or other softer sausages, the recommendation is still to throw them away, as they are wet foods and the risk of mycotoxins being formed is higher.
• The highly cured cheese. In this case, we can also remove the mold and eat the rest of the cheese without risk, but we must leave a margin of at least two centimeters around between the mold and the edible part. Softer cheeses should be discarded whole.
• Very tough vegetables. Vegetables contain a lot of water, so this exception should only be for the toughest and firmer ones, such as carrots or cabbage, and also with a large margin around it.
–
How to prevent the sausage from getting mold
To prevent mold from appearing in sausages, the way we keep these foods at home will be decisive so that mold does not appear and we can enjoy them for a long time. To do this, we must:
• Hang the sausages in cool, well-ventilated and dry places, because humidity is the best friend of mold. Ideally, they should be between 15 and 20 degrees.
• Keep them with the original packaging until the moment of consumption. Once started, we can put in the open part with a little olive oil and then use a transparent film to cover it. We must never remove the skin from the unconsumed part.
• Wrap the rest of the cane with a cotton cloth, and make sure it is always free of moisture.
• Although it is better that they are stored and cured outside, if it is too hot or we do not have a cool and dry enough place at home, put in the fridge, especially once started.
•Avoid sudden temperature changes, because they harm conservation.
– .
