CAN MOLD IN FOOD MAKE YOU SICK?

Can mold in food make you sick? The answer is "yes." But it doesn't happen all the time. Most molds in food are harmless, except perhaps to people who are very allergic. But then there are those other nasty molds, or, more correctly called "fungi," that can produce very bad toxins called "mycotoxins" with interesting names like "aflatoxin," "fumonisin," "vomitoxin," "zealareno," and "ochratoxin." Even they don't do it all the time. Just sometimes, when the conditions are right (think, "warm and moist"). There are about 300 of these different types of toxins, and more are being discovered all the time. Overall, we know very little about the dangers of mold in food.

So let's turn to mold in relation to Chobani Yogurt. That SO fashionable Chobani Greek Yogurt seems to have come down with a bad case of gas, with some containers swelling, fizzing, leaking, or even exploding. This has prompted a large recall of its products, and lead to a lot of bad publicity and loss of credibility.

I have always been a great admirer of the very clever marketing job done by Chobani. Eating its products is not only guaranteed to be healthy, but a socially rewarding activity. This unlucky recent event will certainly test its fan club in spite of all the efforts made to repair the damage to its image.

The cause of all this gas and bloating in the yogurt, has been identified as a mold called Mucor circinelloides. This mold is often present in the environment and can turn up in dairy, and on fruits and vegetables. So is it one of the "bad" molds?

True, the fungus has been known to occasionally cause rather nasty skin (and even tooth) infections. But the company claims, quoting one expert source, that this mold has never been associated with causing food borne illness and that the mold is therefore totally harmless in its yogurt. So why are all these Chobani yogurt eaters saying it made them ill? Are they just imagining it?

At this point we don't know. But, not so fast Chobani. Let me remind you of a few things. First, the cause of most food borne illness is never identified, and molds are not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when investigators are looking for a cause. Secondly, bacteria, viruses, molds and other organisms, keep evolving and changing, and there is no guarantee that a mold which has not been identified as producing deadly toxins, will not be later found to produce them. Thirdly, moldy foods often have bacteria growing alongside them. I wonder whether, having found the mold to be present, researchers stopped looking for another, possibly bacterial, contaminant. We may never know.

So, when it comes to food borne illness, never say "never."

To your good health,
TSF

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MOLD TOXINS

Everyone knows what mold is, and we have all seen moldy food. But very few people know much about mold toxins. So just how dangerous are they?

In my opinion, mold toxins such as aflatoxin are a much more serious threat than we realize. And not just to people who are allergic to mold. To all of us, wherever we live and whatever diet we are on.

Aflatoxin, and especially aflatoxin B1 is a very carcinogenic (Level 1) mold toxin. It is, in fact, the most potent microbial carcinogen we know of. Aflatoxin is produced by the Apergillus family of fungi, particularly Aspergillus flavus and Apergillus parasiticus - very ordinary kinds of mold. But before you get too nervous, let me stress that not every mold you see on your food is one of these, and even if it is, these molds only produce toxins some of the time.

The molds, and the toxin, is most likely to be found in foods such as grains (especially maize, millet and sorghum), peanuts, seeds, and legumes. It is everywhere in the soil and air and can enter the plants in the field or even post-harvest, especially when such foods are badly stored in warm and moist conditions. But, the toxin can also be present in meat, poultry, eggs and dairy, because of contaminated animal feed. And it has turned up at high levels in dog food as well (including in the United States).

Globally, the people at biggest risk for aflatoxin and aflatoxicosis, are the poor of developing nations - especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, South-East Asia, and the Western Pacific (which includes countries such as China), who live on a diet which relies heavily on food such as maize and peanuts. People in these countries suffer various health problems as a result: acute and chronic aflatoxicosis, liver cancer, liver cirrhosis, and nutrition-related problems in children.

Those of us living in other parts of the world, even in countries where governments have strict standards for how much of this toxin is allowed in food, are likely to only be getting low levels of the toxin. But the chances are that we do get some every single day. Unfortunately, studies have shown that even relatively small amounts of the toxin, over a period of time can weaken your immune system. In turn, this has been found to compound other health problems you may have ( as well as make you more susceptible to all kinds of illnesses, including food poisoning). For instance, researchers have now found that high levels of aflatoxin in your body can increase the harm that H.I.V. and hepatitis B virus do to your body.

So what can we do at a personal level? First, we should check products such as peanuts, grains, coffee beans and corn yourself for presence of mold before you eat them, and, of course they should be carefully stored in the home. It is also important to take care when you are buying food. I have found corn sold in very reputable stores to have Aspergillus mold (and I know what it looks like). And - yes, I hate to say this, and I know some of you will hate me for it - but you need to be especially careful with any "Free Trade" products coming in from Sub-Saharan Africa. Sometimes packages are not properly sealed, which could lead to mold contamination. Believe me, I have seen it. And, you should check your peanuts before eating and not eat any that have broken shells.

I have actually given quite a lot of attention to mold toxins in The Safe Food Handbook (the book, not the blog). Why? Because I like to be ahead of the issues, not behind.

To your good health,
TSF

WHAT FOOD POISONING IS - AND WHAT IT ISN'T

I am becoming a little bored with blogging food recalls. So how about a topic that is more general - and basic, about which there is still a lot of confusion - "food poisoning". Most professionals prefer a label like "food borne illness" instead. But most consumers think in terms of "food poisoning". So what is it?

The terms if very loosely used. But here are a few thoughts. Not everyone will agree with my broad definition.

In its broader use, "food poisoning" refers to not only infectious microbes in food (bacteria, viruses, molds/fungi, parasites) and the illnesses they cause, but also to toxic substances in food and their effect on our health. In the case of the toxic agents, they can be naturally occurring, result from environmental contamination or agriculture practices employed, or even from terrorist activity.

Eating "poisoned" food - meaning "contaminated" food, can lead to very mild symptoms, or even just feeling "off" and tired, or, it can send you to the hospital and even kill you. And don't think that if you become ill after a meal, that the foods you ate then were the cause. Depending on what is involved (and how much of it, and who you are), you can come down with a case of "food poisoning" in less than an hour, or months after you ate the contaminated food.

The usual symptoms are diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and weakness. But there can be other very different symptoms as well, as in the case of certain bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, Norovirus, natural toxins in seafood and mushrooms, and when toxic metals or toxic chemicals are involved.

And don't think "food poisoning" is just about those bacteria we hear about all the time like Salmonella, E.coli and Listeria. There are hundreds of infectious agents that can crop up in the food we eat and hundreds of toxic substances are well. The large majority of cases of food poisoning are never linked to a cause.

To your good health,

TSF