MOLD!!! Have I lost the lot?

[seadog92]

I started out with a nice fine white mold, harvested from a first class salami.  Everything looked great.  I had to leave town for a few days, and when I returned, I found my salami, guanciale and pepperoni covered with the fuzzy white and green mold.  I can wash it off with vinegar and water, but I'm wondering if I've just lost it all.  I think the Guanciale is lost, as when I started to wash it off, it was soft and slimy.  Do you think that I can salvage the rest, or should I dump it and start from scratch?  I know that my problem is too high humidity, and I'm correcting that.  I'd rather lose $60 of meat and effort than to take a chance on getting sick.  any input?

mold.jpg

• seadog92
• Oct 2, 2014

 

[daveomak]

I would pitch it.... Too much mold I think...... Maybe your curing chamber was contaminated.... Be sure to scrub it and clean it with vinegar, maybe even some diluted bleach..... Buy a new humidity monitor/controller..... and temp controller maybe...

What was your set up.... refer, humidity controller... temp controller... did you spray a control mold on the surface of the sausage prior to leaving/when you hung it up...

I don't understand how it could get to that point....



edit..... You harvested white mold from a store bought salami... then put it on your new salami..... is that what I'm reading....

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I have the same question about the harvested mold...

And I'd do just as Dave said. Pitch it and sanitize everything. Get your curin chamber working properly before trying again.

 

[DanMcG]

Although there is a lot of blue/green mold, I don't see any black red or orange stuff that's definitely a game stopper. wash it off with some vinegar and wash out your chamber with some bleach and see what happens. I think you might be fine...but thats just my opinion

 

[cdn offroader]

I would check out this link for the Calabrian pork store http://forums.egullet.org/topic/125619-green-mold-on-dry-cured-sausages/

Green mold doesn't seem to bother these guys, would have to assume they are monitered by the food inspectors.

 

[daveomak]

That last sentence is a real EYE OPENER...

Thanks CDN....
VERY INTERESTING READ..... http://forums.egullet.org/topic/125619-green-mold-on-dry-cured-sausages/

Why is mouldy food dangerous?

You should not eat mouldy food because it may contain poisonous substances that are produced by the moulds.

Many species of such common moulds as Penicillium and Aspergillus, Alternaria, Fusarium and Cladosporium (blue, green, yellow, pink, red or black moulds) which often grow on bread, cheese, fruit and vegetables, produce these poisons, which are called mycotoxins.

We already know of over 200 kinds of mycotoxin, produced by about 150 different fungi, and more are being discovered every year. Some are toxic at very low doses, and many are heat stable, so you can't get rid of them by cooking the food.

Aflatoxin, produced by a few species of Aspergillus, is the most carcinogenic (cancer-causing) substance known. Ochratoxin, produced by other species of Aspergillus, can cause fatal kidney disease. Don't take a chance -- don't eat mouldy food.