Don’t be ashamed. You’ve done it, I’ve done it, we’ve all done it. That cheese is the only thing in your refrigerator, you’re hungry and too lazy to go scavenging the mean streets for fresh food. But it’s got a wee bit of mold on it — it’s totally fine to cut that mold off and eat the rest, right? Well, maybe not so much.

The thing about mold is, what you see is not only all that you’ll get, explains DNews (h/t to Lifehacker for the link) in this very informative video.

Basically, though you might think you’re cutting off only the part of the loaf of bread or fruit that has the mold on it, the stuff grows in strands called hyphae that aren’t visible to the naked eye. So if the food is soft and porous, that mold could be spreading its nasty tendrils throughout.

When it comes down to it — you’ll probably be okay if you cut mold off hard, non-porous foods like carrots or salami,for example. But that moldy pizza, soft cheese, bread or fruits? Just take a deep breath and get rid of it. It’s for the best.

Check out the video for more:

Can You Cut the Mold Off Food and Eat It? [DNews]

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