# Is It Safe To Eat Mouldy Bread?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 9, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317 "2012-03-09T19:52:08Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Stelios](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stelios)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/1 "2012-03-09T19:52:08Z")
Hi all, I’ve just eaten a slice of bread and, when I looked at the rest of the slices in the loaf, I saw that each one had a little mouldy spot right in the middle. Presumably, the one I ate had one too, I just didn’t notice it. Can eating a little bit of bread mould make me sick? Thanks.
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### Author:  [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/2 "2012-03-09T20:04:57Z")
It’s not healthy because of the Aflatoxins causing cancer, but from one slice you probably won’t keel over dead.
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### Author:  [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/3 "2012-03-09T20:06:53Z")
I don’t think so, because I’ve done this way too many times to mention. I’ll have a bag of onion rolls, fix me a sarnie, and as I’m finishing, look over at the bag and realize that every single one in the bag has fuzzy mold all over.
I think you’ll notice if it’s so widespread that it’s inedible - it won’t taste right. But I do what you describe at least once or twice a month. I have no idea why some bread we buy goes moldy in a few days, while other kinds can hang around for weeks no worse for wear.
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### Author:  [@NorthernBiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernBiker)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/4 "2012-03-09T20:08:28Z")
I’ve done it plenty of times. Cut off the moldy part and go to town. Your body is re markedly resilient. I swear most modern day humans could not survive even 100 years ago.
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### Author:  [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/5 "2012-03-09T20:12:14Z")
Yeah, I’ve done that before too. I’m still here, and never got sick from it.
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### Author:  [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/6 "2012-03-09T20:19:21Z")
Health-wise, you’ll be fine. But you may want to see someone about the heebie-jeebies you catch from eating mouldy bread. Just be glad they’re not _screaming._
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### Author:  [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/7 "2012-03-09T20:40:05Z")
Obviously, you’re all talking about bread that was just barely moldy and was accidentally ingested. But what would happen if someone ate bread that was completely moldy throughout? Would they get sick?
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### Author:  [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/8 "2012-03-09T20:49:35Z")
What you call the moldy part is just what you can see; the actual fungus spreads much farther. That’s why doctors and health professional always say that you cut it out in dry food (like hard cheese) very generously, but in soft food like US bread or marmalade, you need to throw it all away because it’s spoiled beyond the visible fuzz.
Eating a slice of bread that’s fully moldy would be hard to do because it tastes terrible. (That’s why I’m surprised at those who claim to do it regularly - don’t you notice the fugly taste after the first bite?)
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### Author:  [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/9 "2012-03-09T20:51:24Z")
[Here’s Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin) about aflatoxins:
> [@](#):
>
> High-level aflatoxin exposure produces an acute hepatic necrosis, resulting later in cirrhosis, and/or carcinoma of the liver. Acute hepatic failure is made manifest by hemorrhage, edema, alteration in digestion, changes to the absorption and/or metabolism of nutrients, and mental changes and/or coma.[citation needed]
>
> No animal species is immune to the acute toxic effects of aflatoxins including humans; however, adult humans have a high tolerance for aflatoxin exposure and rarely succumb to acute aflatoxicosis.[3]
>
> Chronic, subclinical exposure does not lead to symptoms as dramatic as acute aflatoxicosis. Children, however, are particularly affected by aflatoxin exposure, which leads to stunted growth and delayed development.[4] Chronic exposure also leads to a high risk of developing liver cancer, as aflatoxin metabolite can intercalate into DNA and alkylate the bases through its epoxide moiety. This is thought to cause mutations in the p53 gene, an important gene in preventing cell cycle progression when there are DNA mutations, or signaling apoptosis. These mutations seem to affect some base pair locations more than others — for example, the third base of codon 249 of the p53 gene appears to be more susceptible to aflatoxin-mediated mutations than nearby bases.[5]
>
> Medical research indicates that a regular diet including apiaceous vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, celery and parsley, reduces the carcinogenic effects of aflatoxin.[6]
So a high enough dosis, if you can manage to get it down, could be acutely harmful.
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### Author:  [@aaaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaaa)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/10 "2012-03-09T20:56:52Z")
> [@NorthernBiker](#):
>
> I’ve done it plenty of times. Cut off the moldy part and go to town. Your body is re markedly resilient. I swear most modern day humans could not survive even 100 years ago.
I think the part that is moldy is not only the surface, that is just the easiest part to see. The fungus actually goes through the whole thing.
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### Author:  [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/11 "2012-03-09T20:58:03Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#):
>
> I have no idea why some bread we buy goes moldy in a few days, while other kinds can hang around for weeks no worse for wear.
Did you look at the ingredients? Does the longer-lasting bread contain “Anti-fungus” stuff?
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/12 "2012-03-09T21:02:09Z")
Of course the people who ate moldy bread and died aren’t posting . . . 😃
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### Author:  [@NorthernBiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NorthernBiker)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/13 "2012-03-09T21:30:50Z")
> [@aaaa](#):
>
> I think the part that is moldy is not only the surface, that is just the easiest part to see. The fungus actually goes through the whole thing.
You could very well be right. I doubt most people are eating a bread that is covered in mold. I have personally cut off corners of mold etc and been fine. Perhaps I’ve gotten lucky, or that bread is in a state of continuous mold and it’s only harmful at a certain point.
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### Author:  [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/14 "2012-03-09T21:52:13Z")
> [@constanze](#):
>
> [Here’s Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aflatoxin) about aflatoxins:
>
> So a high enough dosis, if you can manage to get it down, could be acutely harmful.
But that’s only relevant if bread mould makes aflatoxins. I never heard of bread mould producing any mycotoxin or being harmful by ingestion.
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### Author:  [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)
#### Post date: [March 9, 2012, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/15 "2012-03-09T22:25:45Z")
You did not notice the mold on the slice you ate. Chances are you did not have any mold. I’ve picked through bread and found good slices and bad ones. You found a good one. Chances are also good that we consume lots of mold that has not reached the visible state to alert us.
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### Author:  [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2012, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/16 "2012-03-10T01:17:58Z")
Oh, yeah, we get lots of mold and worse from EVERYTHING.
But upthread, someone mentioned that by the time the visible mold is present, the entire loaf is contaminated. Not appetizing.
If you are allergic to penicillin, though, bread mold could cause a reaction.
And of course, it is the mold of rye bread that contains the precursor of LSD.
~VOW
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### Author:  [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)
#### Post date: [March 10, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/17 "2012-03-10T23:50:45Z")
> [@VOW](#):
>
> If you are allergic to penicillin, though, bread mold could cause a reaction.
Bread mould doesn’t make penicillin.
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/18 "2012-03-11T01:44:34Z")
In general, if you can see it or smell it, it probably won’t make you sick. That’s just basic evolution: an organism that needs to reproduce in your body won’t warn you away, and one that can’t get by your gastric juices will in order to keep from being destroyed.
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### Author:  [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/19 "2012-03-11T04:35:02Z")
> [@hibernicus](#):
>
> Bread mould doesn’t make penicillin.
Penicillin was first isolated from a mold grown on bread. Reproducing that is a standard middle school science project. I did it in school.
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### Author:  [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)
#### Post date: [March 11, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-eat-mouldy-bread/615317/20 "2012-03-11T18:48:12Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#):
>
> Penicillin was first isolated from a mold grown on bread. Reproducing that is a standard middle school science project. I did it in school.
Penicillin was first mold on a cheese sandwich. Penicillin likes cheese (which is why cheese is often Pasteurized). Pasteurized bread would be… gooey.
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