mold on lychee fruit - still safe to eat?

In My Humble Opinion
1

This is inspired by my Asian meat safety question.

I love lychee fruit but it is rare that I get some. I found some at a Trader Joe’s last summer when we went to San Francisco. I enjoyed them for a day but on the second day of having them in the hotel room I noticed that they were beginning to grow mold on the rinds. Molding/rotting produce is one of the few things that makes me scream and hide in a corner, so being the wasteful person I am, I chucked the rest of them in the trashcan.

Several months ago when my friend and I decided to go to an Asian supermarket (not the Kam Man one from my other post) I was excited to see that they sold lychee, but upon inspection I found that they bore some mold on the rinds as well so I put them down and never looked back.

I’d rather my love of lychee not be spoiled by mold on the rinds, if it turns out that moldy rinds is common and does not render the flesh of the fruit unsafe.

Would it be okay if I soaked my lychee bounty in some soapy water to kill the mold on the rinds before peeling them?

2

If you see mold, it generally means that there is mold where you can’t see, thanks to the fungus’ hyphae. This depends on how “squishy” the food is and I believe lychee applies. Will it kill you or at least make you sick if you cut it off? Probably not. But be aware that you aren’t removing much. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen “natural” lychee (unpeeled?), so I can’t say if there is an acceptable amount.

3

I love lychee and I eat it a lot here in Hawaii. The skin/rind is tough and encases the fruit. If the outside has mold then it is possible that the inside doesn’t and is safe to eat. The lychee that I have found to be bad or spoiled looked normal on the outside but was rotten on the inside.

4

Would peeling them immediately after you buy them, then keeping them in the fridge prevent mold?

I prefer canned lychees. They keep better, you don’t have to worry if they’re ripe/too ripe/spoiled/have worms/sour, no seeds, and taste the same to me.