Can Moldy Food Be Cleaned and Used?

Üsküdar University Health Services Vocational School Food Technology Program Lecturer Selen Akbulut made evaluations about moldy foods and shared her recommendations on the consumption of moldy foods.

Stating that molds have a very important place in food microbiology, especially in the deterioration of foods, Food Engineer Selen Akbulut said, “Foods are an invaluable source for the development of microorganisms with the diversity of the components they contain and the water they contain. For this reason, especially molds, yeasts and bacteria can easily develop and deteriorate the quality of the food if the products are not packaged and stored under appropriate conditions. Many consumers can find mold on the surfaces of their food, even if they are refrigerated or stored in suitable conditions. In fact, although we can only see it on the surface, this formation has reached the upper part from the lower layers of the food. So this is just the visible part of the molds.” said.

Food Engineer Selen Akbulut, 'Can the mold on the surface of a food that has mold on the surface be cleaned and reused?' He said that the basic answer to the question is hidden in the quality of the food and continued his words as follows:

“If the food has a hard structure, mold fungi cannot penetrate deep into the food. Therefore, there is no problem in cutting and using moldy parts. On the contrary, we can re-evaluate our food with an approach that prevents food waste. However, if the food has a soft texture, unfortunately, it will not be enough to clean the molds on the surface. These foodstuffs need to be disposed of properly. Consumption of such moldy foods also causes toxicological formations created by molds called 'mycotoxins' to be taken into the body. These substances accumulate in our body over time and play a role in the formation of chronic diseases, especially cancer types.

Stating that molds can easily grow in high humidity and oxygenated environments due to their nature, Food Engineer Selen Akbulut said, “Since molds are creatures that reproduce by spores, these spore cells can easily be carried on other foods by air and spoil them. Most of the time, even if we think that our food is safe when we store it in the refrigerator, we witness it moldy.” He said, and listed the things that should be done to store food more safely, with a few items as follows:

• Refrigerator interior cleaning should be done regularly,
• High humidity formation should be prevented in the areas where we store food,
• Storage containers should be hygienic against mold formation and their mouths should be well closed,
• Leftover food should be consumed without losing much time,
• The kitchen should be ventilated regularly.

Reminding that our country has hundreds of cheese types produced with very different methods in terms of cheese diversity, Food Engineer Selen Akbulut said, “Cheese is also a good source of protein and fat. Cheeses molded with natural or industrial production methods are consumed in our country as well as in many other countries. The famous Roquefort Cheese of the French, Blue Cheese of the British, Gorgonzola of the Italians are nutritious moldy cheeses. In our country, especially Erzurum, Sivas, Kars, Ardahan, Erzincan and Konya are the most common places where moldy cheese is produced and consumed. Our cheeses, which we call mostly moldy curd cheeses, and local civil cheeses, are produced by molding and consumed with the mold on it. First of all, it should be noted that for this situation, "he said.

Akbulut continued his words as follows:

“When producing these cheeses, mold fungi are used, not bacteria or yeast cells. It has been proven by scientific studies that these molds do not have a negative pathogenic effect on human health. However, one of the most important features to pay attention to is: We usually see green mold on these cheeses. This used Penicillum spp. type indicates the presence of mold. If mold formation is observed in the form of black and red spots other than this color, those cheeses should not be consumed. These molds may be the mycotoxin producing molds mentioned earlier. These types of mold are harmful to human health.”

Stating that the cheeses sold as 'moldy cheese' in our country are varieties produced within our own culture, Üsküdar University Food Technology Program Lecturer. See. Selen Akbulut said, “Konya (Divle Cheese), Erzurum (Kerti Cheese), Hatay (Cooked Surk Cheese), Burdur (Moldy Coke) and Ardahan (Moldy Cheese) are among the cities where moldy cheese takes different names and is consumed. The main issue that consumers should pay attention to when purchasing these cheeses is to obtain them from reliable vendors. Cheese producers, on the other hand, should use reliable starter molds with defined type and type, and molding of the food should be carried out in accordance with its quality. Purchasing cheese produced in our villages in Turkey and molded naturally may have irreversible toxic effects for consumers. There are many scientific studies that show that unhygienic and uncontrolled molded cheeses produced in our villages can be harmful.” he said.