estes@ttrda.UUCP (Edward Estes ) (07/02/85)
In reference to the question of scraping mold from cheese,
"Completely Cheese", Warner Books says:
Until recently it was thought that if mold was found on the surface
of a piece of cheese, it was perfectly safe to scrape off the
mold and then use the cheese as originally planned. According to
the FDA, however, scientific evidence indicates that this may not
be a wise practice.
...
As molds grow, they *sometimes* produce substances called
*mycotoxins*, and the consumer has no way of knowing whether the
mold growing on a particular cheese produces them. Some mycotoxins
have been shown to produce cancer in animals, and their effect on
humans in not yet known; to be absolutely safe it would be best
to avoid cheese molds completely.
. . . [T]he mold itself can be a source of trouble. Some individuals
have allergic reactions to molds . . . Certain mold species can
cause serious and possibly fatal human and animal infections in
such body areas as the sinuses, eyes, ears, and repiratory tract.
...
. . . [P]ackages of cheese should be inspected in the store before
purchasing. If packages are moldy, they should not be purchased
and should be pointed out to the store manager, who in turn should
remove them from display and discard them. To be certain of no
danger, the same should be done for cheese in the home:
*moldy cheese should be discarded*. Note that simply cutting
away the mold does *not* remove any possible problems, because
fungi have roots, and these roots may extend deep into the cheese.
They go on to say that blue-veined cheeses, such as Roquefort, are fine,
and should not be avoided.
As an aside the book is great. It has just about everything you would
want to know about cheeses, from manufacture of cheese to cheese recipes.
"Completely Cheese, the Cheeselover's Companion"
Anita May Pearl, Warner Books, 1978
Ted Estes
AT&T Teletype Corp.
...!ihnp4!ttrdc!ttrda!estesholly@hpfcly.UUCP (holly) (07/17/85)
From all information I have read, do not eat cheese with mold on it. Research shows that it is not the visible mold that we need fear, but the spores that are the unseen villians. Mold has spores (like roots on a plant). Even though you may cut the mold off the cheese the spores remain thus presenting the problem. Cancer research, at this point in time, is theorizing that this may contribute to the development of cancer. Besides, eating something with mold on it (even though it has been cut away) sounds a bit revolting.
hoppen@uiucdcs.Uiuc.ARPA (07/23/85)
The spores ARE the visible part (along with the support structures bearing them). Normally most people won't notice mold until it is bearing the fruiting bodies (spores). What can remain behind when you cut off the colored part is mycelia, which are masses of hyphae. Mycelia can be compared to a plant's body and root system. If conditions are right, the mycelia can easily produce more spores and your mold will "reappear" when it, in fact, never left. It is true that some molds are toxic. Many also aren't. Unless you are an expert on them, however, they are probably best left alone.
dkatz@zaphod.UUCP (Dave Katz) (07/23/85)
In article <5400007@hpfcly.UUCP> holly@hpfcly.UUCP (holly) writes: >...Cancer research, at this point in time, is theorizing that this may >contribute to the development of cancer. Besides, eating something with mold >on it (even though it has been cut away) sounds a bit revolting. I gave up worrying about THINGS THAT MIGHT CAUSE CANCER when I heard, in a detailed news report, that fried hamburger might. Now, it seems to me that some things really do have a strong link, like large amounts of asbestos fibre floating in the air, but most everything else rates as so insignificant as to only provide funding for cancer research. Now I enjoy cheese and hamburger and sunshine and all of those other things that caused human life as we know it to disappear, due to cancer, 48,000,000 years ago. As for eating things with mold, I always take heart in the words of a buddy of mine who, when he disovered some old food that didn't have mold on it, in his fridge, said: "What do those little beasties know that I don't." He refused to ever buy that particular food again.
oyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster) (07/26/85)
In article <312@zaphod.UUCP> dkatz@zaphod.UUCP (Dave Katz) writes: >I gave up worrying about THINGS THAT MIGHT CAUSE CANCER when I heard, in >a detailed news report, that fried hamburger might. I read in Omni magazine that a researcher right here at the U of Wisconsin found that fried hamburger may actually help *prevent* cancer. I thought I'd pass this tidbit along even though I take anything I read in Omni with an extremely large grain of salt (or was that MSG...). -- - joel "vo" plutchak {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster "Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is all confusion."
linda@amdcad.UUCP (Linda Seltzer) (08/16/85)
> >I gave up worrying about THINGS THAT MIGHT CAUSE CANCER when I heard, in > >a detailed news report, that fried hamburger might. > > I read in Omni magazine that a researcher right here at the U of Wisconsin > found that fried hamburger may actually help *prevent* cancer. I thought > I'd pass this tidbit along even though I take anything I read in Omni with > an extremely large grain of salt (or was that MSG...). > I think that the studies of carcinogens in fried meat may have been done by Professor Bruce Ames at UC Berkeley. I think it was the burning and browning which was harmful - rare meat was more safe. There are plenty of plenty of papers by Ames and at least one summary in Science, if anyone wants to do a literature search.