Imagine you’re hungry, and you’ve been thinking about a gooey, toasted cheese sandwich or tuna melt for hours. You open up the bread bin to find one end of the loaf covered in fuzzy, green mould. What do you do (aside from scream)? Can you cut off the mouldy part and save the rest, as you might with a piece of hard cheese?
Sadly, when it comes to bread, it's a resounding no. Here’s why the loaf needs to go in the bin or compost – and how to keep your next one mould-free for longer.
Not all mould is visible
The fuzzy green, grey or black mould on bread isn’t just unpleasant to look at; it can also be harmful. Mould can produce toxic substances called mycotoxins, as well as microscopic “threads” that spread deep below the surface. Nightmarish, we know!
“If we can see mould, it’s like the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr Darin Detwiler, a food safety expert and professor emeritus of food regulatory affairs.
These threads spread more easily through soft, porous foods such as bread, says Detwiler. They’re invisible to the naked eye, so you can’t tell whether they’ve spread beyond the mouldy patch, and you're therefore consuming them. Cutting it off “doesn’t actually guarantee that you’re removing contamination”, he explains.
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What to do with mouldy bread
Unfortunately, there’s only one thing to do with a mouldy loaf, says Detwiler: put it straight in the bin or compost it. It’s a shame, but mould can cause a range of health problems if eaten or inhaled, including nausea, vomiting and breathing difficulties. So it’s just not worth the risk, particularly if you’re immunocompromised.
The same applies to sliced bread: even if only one slice is mouldy, the threads may have spread to the others. So, it’s best to bin the whole loaf.
To keep bread fresh for longer, Detwiler recommends keeping it as dry as possible. Store it in a bread bin or paper bag to allow air to circulate and prevent moisture building up. Avoid the fridge, which can make bread go stale more quickly than storing it at room temperature. The freezer is a good option, particularly if you plan to toast the bread.
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
