04/01/2026
Spring is finally here🌸 After a long winter season, it's a good idea to do some spring cleaning around the kitchen.
Don't forget to check way in the back of the refrigerator! If you come across moldy foods during cleaning, what should you do? 🤢
- Some molds produce toxins (poisons) and determining which do and which don't is difficult. The most toxic molds grow on grains. The visible mold may not be all the mold that developed. The threadlike hyphae (the equivalent of roots) may have penetrated the food.
- Some foods, such as blue cheese, get their flavor from mold growth. Any visibly moldy foods that should not have mold growth should be discarded. If only a small area of mold is found on a piece of hard block cheese, hard salami or a dry-cured country ham, the food can be salvaged by cutting out an inch of the product surrounding and below the moldy area. Keep the knife out of the mold itself and re-cover the food in fresh wrap.
Learn how to prevent foods from molding from NDSU Extension >>> https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/publications/food-my-kitchen-safety-hazard #:~:text=Molds,-Molds
