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

A VALENTINE FOR MY DOG

This is your first Valentine's Day with us, Gunesh - our latest "rescue" dog. We love having you as part of our family. And you have really made great strides in adjusting to living here. A big plus is that you are no longer eating the rugs, my prescription glasses, cellphone, my favorite clothes, your leash, the roasted chicken off the kitchen counter, and whatever else happened to be within reach.

But on my side, I feel I have let you down. Because you are such a young wildly energetic dog, with much of your earlier life spent scavenging on the street, and have survived eating some things that should have finished you off, I have rationalized that I didn't have to be so careful about what I fed you. Your predecessor was given healthy home-cooked food. But most of the time you've eaten commercial "store-bought" food out of bags and cans.

What you are getting is basically our human food leftovers or rejects plus a bunch of additives to make it taste better, look nicer (for us, not you) and last longer. A lot of this food is made up of grains - even in those more expensive brands that claim to be so healthy. And, as the last few months have shown, they carry safety as well as nutritional risks. One of the main ones is aflatoxin. This mycotoxin (occasionally produced by some molds) is particularly common in grains such as corn, especially in the lower quality corn products that go into making your food.

And yes, now commercial dog food has established limits for these toxins, as also exist in our food, though they are not as well enforced. Nevertheless, sometimes high levels are caught through testing. This happened at the end of last year, with several types and brands of dog food. Cargill Animal Health, Procter and Gamble, Advanced Animal Nutrition, O’Neal’s Feeders Supply and Petrus Feed and Seed Stores each recalled several lots of dry dog food during a six-day span. Others followed.

And that hasn't been the only time. The worst case I know of before that was in 2006 when at least a hundred dogs died and countless others became seriously ill over a period of months as a result of high levels of aflatoxin in 19 brands of Diamond Pet Foods. Even if there isn't enough aflatoxin in your food to be fatal - and it doesn't take much - it can leave you with serious liver problems along with unpleasant symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy and jaundice.

No, Gunesh, you are not getting a box of chocolates for Valentine's Day (chocolate is high on the "don't eat list" for dogs) but I do promise to give you safer and healthier food. In fact, I think I'll start by cooking you one of your favorites for Valentine's Day: a turkey burger, with a fried egg on top. We want you to stay healthy and happy and be around for many more years.

TSF