Hey, just went to eat one of two muffins that where ~1 week old. One had a couple mold spots, so I threw it in the garbage; however, the other had no signs of mold at all, so I ate it. Looked, smelled, and tasted normal so I think I’m okay.
Now, I’ve read how mold grows into food in ways that aren’t always visible, so I know that it isn’t safe to just cut out the moldy section and eat the rest (excluding certain hard cheeses, vegetables, etc). But can mold start growing under the surface, or does it always grow from the outside inward?
I think that if you’re a healthy adult without serious allergies and an undamaged immune system, you could probably have eaten the moldy muffin no problem. Or, do what I do, and eat around the moldy spot if it tastes ok.
In general, any spoilage you can see won’t harm you.
Think evolution: something that harms you needs to be ingested to work. Why alert others to your presence? That’s why you don’t see salmonella or e. coli without a microscope.
OTOH, mold needs to grow on the muffin. If people see it, they will throw out the muffin and the mold can continue to grow. If they can’t see it, they will eat it and the digestive juices will take care of it.
I’ve been told that mold on baked goods isn’t something you can just cut off, like mold on cheese, because if it’s on the surface, chances are it’s already grown down into the bread itself, and the spores are present, even if you can’t see them. You’re better off just pitching it.
Simple answer: Mold is aerobic, so grows from the outside in.
Depending on the mold, you would have been safe; but in many foods, the mold growth will raise the pH to a level where pathogenic bacteria can grow. That’s the reason why soft mold-ripened cheeses such as brie are forbidden during pregnancy.
