Food Safety: Should You Eat Berries From A Moldy Batch?

It can be disheartening to forget that pack of berries you bought on the countertop overnight only to wake up to see that some have gone mouldy. It leaves one wondering if it would be healthier to toss the rest or rinse them off.

So what should you really do? Are the rest safe for consumption or do you have to toss them with the mouldy ones?

According to the experts, eating fistfuls of visibly mouldy berries is not a good idea especially since nobody can tell whether the invasive fungi behind the mould are friendly or harmful.

However, with a little observance and thanks to the intuition of many of the humans that have come before us, it has been stated that the other healthy-looking berries from the batch can be safely eaten as long as they don’t show any signs of infestation.

Typically, the mold that infects berries is air borne. As the fruit respires, small spores land on the humid surfaces and germinate, quickly penetrating their thin skins and feeding on the available food. Berries are ideal for moulds because they contain a lot of moisture and sugar.

Note that once mold gets into a pack of berries, it becomes difficult to prevent its spread. Sometimes the fungi could be growing in the fruit without visible spores which leaves most people with no choice but to guess which berries can be eaten.

One good way to know if a berry is still okay is if it is still fresh, plump and not falling apart even after rubbing against a moldy one. Fortunately, if mould can’t be seen by the eye then it means it is not present in high amounts that could prove harmful if ingested.

Conclusion

So do moldy berries ruin good ones? Over time, yes they do. Once they keep rubbing together it is easy for the mold to spread but if you find it early enough before it spreads too much, you may still be able to save some of the batch.