Can You Get Sick From Eating Moldy Bread?
You can definitely get sick from eating moldy bread. Even if bread has mold on one side and not on the other side, do not eat that bread – molds have widespread roots and you can’t see them in some parts. People with mold allergy can have breathing problems if they eat moldy breads.
Heres everything you need to know if contaminated bread makes you sick, including if it is possible to contract food poisoning from bread that is past its expiration date. The good news is, eating even a tiny amount of moldy bread probably will not hurt you — you are probably just going to get a bit queasy. If you do eventually become ill because of your moldy bread, it is probably going to be a matter of hours after eating it.
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Misfeeding moldy bread does very well in getting someone sick — and not only because it tastes bad, but because some molds can get pretty nasty. More importantly, while the usual molds on bread are not particularly damaging, there are certain dangerous molds that may harm your health. Although molds can grow on many types of foods, bread mold is prevalent because bread provides a highly desired nutrient source for mold growth. However, I learned from my research that it is never worth cutting out the mold itself to eat the rest of your bread.
| Side effects | Shelf life |
| It can cause food poisoning | 3-4 days home made |
| Acute liver disease | Up to 7 days if it’s store-bought |
| Nausea and vomiting | 7-14 days in refrigerator |
If you are not terribly freaked out about that blotch of mold in your meal, you may be tempted to simply cut it and keep eating, but whether or not this is really a good idea depends on the meal. Just be sure to cut at least an inch around and under a fuzzy patch, take the knife out of the mold, and wrap the good parts of your food with the new cover. If only one part of a hard cheese, like Parmesan, is contaminated with mold, you can cut the moldy portion — and at least an inch around and underneath the contaminated portion — off and eat the rest. Hard cheeses (not to be confused with ones where mold is a part of the process) are edible as long as you slice off at least 1 inch around and underneath the mold.
Meanwhile, mold on harder cheeses, such as Parmesan, or firm vegetables, such as cabbage and carrots, can be trimmed. Mold cannot easily get into some hard cheeses, tough salamis, firm fruits, and vegetables like they do in soft foods, according to USDA data. It is very easy for molds to grow on foods that are soft and porous, such as breads, fruits, vegetables, etc., says Keri Gans.
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All these molds are usually considered safe for consumption because they are consumed as part of the food that they are used to produce, Gans explains. In short, yes, molds are used to make some of your favorite foods, such as cheese, soy sauce, vinegar, yogurt, and others – meaning some molds are clearly not hazardous to eat, Keri Gans explains. Aside from molds intentionally made into foods — er, blue cheese!–you do not actually want to eat any food with mold on it. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but cutting off moldy parts does not guarantee your food is safe to eat.
The bottom line is it is not possible to know beforehand whether or not moldy foods you are eating are safe, so your best bet is to proceed with caution. Chances are, you will not suffer ill effects from eating some mold…but that is definitely not something you should try actively. The short answer is that, no, you are not likely going to die from eating mold; you will digest it just like you would any other food, and provided you have developed a relatively healthy immune system, the most you are likely to experience is a little bit of nausea or vomiting due to the taste/image of what you have just eaten.
With this, your stomach is barely going to notice you ate something as gross as mold, and will digest as normal. Due to the stomachs rough, acidic environment, you will digest some mold just as well as any other food. Because if you have accidentally eaten a really bad mould, it could cause some really bad effects. If you do not have any allergies to mold, it is unlikely that you will get really sick if you have accidentally consumed some.
It seems to be a fairly safe bet that, if you actually have mold allergies, accidentally eating some mold does not really impact your body that badly. You may get sick after accidentally eating those molds, but it is more likely that is because mold tastes bad, rather than because there is some specific toxins there, says Rudolph Bedford. If you ate bread containing molds from more dangerous species, you may feel irritated in the mouth and throat.
What is more, bread mold sometimes produces a fungal poison called mycotoxin, which may cause illness, according to the Michigan State University. Fortunately, the more prevalent bread mold, Penicillium, is much less likely to make mycotoxins.
Cheesemakers use strains of molds that cannot make mycotoxins, so types such as blue cheese are perfectly safe for consumption. If the cheese is supposed to have mold in it–say, a blue or a Camembert–then that cheese is certainly fine to eat.
Softer cheeses, like Cottage Cheese, may have been contaminated beneath the surface, and they can have bacteria growing alongside mold, too. Yogurt and sour cream may create a mycotoxin if they grow mold, so microbiologists advise against skimming off the mold and using leftovers. Get rid of them if you see any mold, because there is a high probability that it is going to run deeper, and that it may travel with the bacteria.
Since you cannot tell the kind of mold you are dealing with by looking at just one piece of bread, you risk getting an allergic reaction from bread or getting food poisoning if you choose to go for it. In fact, just one tiny speck of mold on one loaf of bread means that the whole thing is likely infected. Even if you see just mold around the edges of one slice of bread, the mold spores and the threads from the molds are already seeping into the whole loaf.
Generally, ordinary mold spores cannot survive baking, but breads can readily take up spores from their surroundings once baked, such as when they are cut into slices and packaged. This nasty mould grows on a wide range of foods, including fruits and vegetables, bread, lunch meats, jams, salsas, and seasonings. Heres a look at what mold is, if eating moldy bread is safe, what happens if you do, what types of mold are found on bread, and how you can keep it from growing.
Will I get sick if I accidentally ate moldy bread?
It is quite unlikely that eating mold will make you unwell. You might feel a little queasy and have small stomach discomfort, but you shouldn’t have any further symptoms like vomiting or diarrhea. In the unlikely event that your symptoms do increase and refuse to go away, you should consult a doctor straight soon.
How quickly can mold make you sick?
The typical onset of these symptoms is 2 to 9 hours after exposure, and they typically last for 1 to 3 days. Other affected individuals also experience weight loss, a cough that gets worse with time, and shortness of breath. Only if symptoms abate and then return when you return to work can they be linked to your job.
Is it OK to eat slightly moldy bread?
No, eating moldy bread is not safe. Even a small amount of mold on a loaf of bread indicates that it is likely contaminated throughout. At the same time, you might get a minor stomach ache and some nausea. Because bread is a soft food, mold spores can easily enter it and quickly spread.