Is it very harmful to eat something mouldy?

It’s probably happened to all of us at some point or another: you’ve already taken a bite or two from your sandwich and then you find out there are mouldy patches on there. Yikes! Of course, you immediately throw away the sandwich, but you did already eat from it. Does this do any harm? We did some research.

This is how your body reacts to mouldy food.

Mould

Eating something with mould on it is a nauseating idea, of course, but don’t worry: it probably won’t hurt your body. People who have a healthy immune system won’t notice anything if they accidentally ate something mouldy. So, those two bites from a mouldy sandwich aren’t harmful. But beware: it’s possible to be allergic to mould! If that’s the case, you should be extra careful around food products.

Mycotoxins

However, there is a reason why you shouldn’t eat the mouldy sandwich in its entirety (although you probably weren’t planning on doing so anyway). Mould on food contains mycotoxins, which are toxic to both humans and animals. Generally speaking, consuming only a small amount of these toxic substances isn’t a really big deal. But in larger doses, or for an extended period of time, it could turn into a problem.

Read more: Do you eat cheese on a daily basis? Then we’ve got good news for you!

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