Can You Eat Moldy Bacon? Understanding the Risks

Coleman Natural Hickory Smoked Uncured Bacon is a family favorite. It tastes salty and is crispy and satisfying. The average American eats about 18 pounds of bacon a year, so it’s not surprising that it’s often gone within a day or two of being brought home from the store or delivered to your door.

However, sometimes your bacon might get pushed to the back of the fridge. Or perhaps you find yourself buying a bit more than your family can eat. Before long, you might be wondering whether your bacon has gone bad or is still edible.

No matter how natural the ingredients are that are used to cure and smoke our bacon, it doesn’t stay fresh forever. If you want to know if your bacon is safe to eat, let’s talk about how it was packaged and four signs that it’s time to throw it away. Table of Contents.

Bacon is beloved for its smoky, salty, umami flavor but also highly perishable. Finding mold on your precious bacon strips is a depressing sight. You may wonder if you can salvage the bacon by cutting away the mold or if mold risks make the whole package unsafe. Here we’ll explore the nuances around moldy bacon and whether consuming any of it is advisable.

What Causes Bacon to Mold?

Before diving into the risks, it helps to understand what causes bacon to mold in the first place. Mold growth requires moisture and air which cured meats like bacon easily allow when stored improperly. Reasons bacon might grow mold include

Opening the package and exposing the remaining strips to air. This allows mold spores to contaminate them
Storing bacon for longer than recommended or past its expiration date. This gives mold more time to colonize.
Failing to tightly wrap or seal leftover bacon after opening. This exposes it to air.
Not storing bacon consistently at under 40°F. Fluctuating fridge temperatures enable mold.
Keeping bacon in a humid environment. Mold thrives in dampness.
Contaminating the bacon with bits of moldy food through cross-contact. This directly inoculates the bacon.

So mold invasion on bacon comes down to storage factors that allow mold spores to land on the bacon and find favorable conditions to grow. Freezing inhibits mold growth, but in the fridge, exposure to air, humidity, and fluctuating temperatures make bacon prone to molding.

Health Risks of Consuming Moldy Bacon

Moldy bacon not only looks and smells unappetizing but can make you sick if eaten. Potential health risks include:

Allergic reactions, which can be severe for those with sensitivities to molds.
Respiratory issues if inhaling mold spores while handling or eating moldy bacon.
Gastrointestinal distress like vomiting and diarrhea. Some molds produce toxins that cause this.
Mycotoxins causing liver damage. Certain molds on cured meats generate dangerous mycotoxins.
Increased cancer risk. Some possible carcinogens are produced by mold fermentation.

Mold can also indicate bacterial growth. Bacteria thrive in similar conditions to mold and may be present but not visible. So mold on bacon signals potentially multiplied pathogens.

Is Any of the Bacon Safe After Removing Mold?

You may wonder if cutting away the visible mold makes the remaining bacon safe for consumption. Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding no. Here’s why:

Mold colonies extent further than is visible. Their “roots” penetrate deeper into the food. So you can’t simply cut away the entire moldy portion.
Toxins released by molds can diffuse into the surrounding food, making it unsafe even if visibly mold-free.
Since conditions enabled mold growth on one part, the rest can harbor unseen microbial growth even without obvious mold.

For these reasons, health and food safety experts universally agree there is no way to salvage moldy bacon. The entire package must be discarded once mold appears. It’s not worth the health risks.

Storing Bacon to Avoid Mold

To avoid having to throw out moldy bacon, proper storage is key. Best practices include:

Seal leftover bacon securely in an airtight container or bag, pressing out all air.
Place bacon in the coldest part of the refrigerator, ideally at 35-38°F to inhibit mold growth.
Monitor refrigerator temperature and adjust as needed to keep it consistently cold.
Keep the refrigerator clean to prevent cross-contamination of mold spores.
Use oldest packages of bacon first and don’t go past use-by dates.
Freeze extra bacon for longer term storage. Frozen at 0°F or below, it won’t mold.
When thawing frozen bacon, keep refrigerated before cooking. Don’t leave it at room temperature.

Following strict cold temperature control and containment of bacon deprives mold spores of the damp, warmer conditions they need to colonize. This keeps bacon mold-free.

What to Do if You’ve Eaten Moldy Bacon

If you accidentally consume moldy bacon before realizing, don’t panic. The level of risk depends on your individual sensitivity and the amount eaten. Monitor yourself for potential symptoms of food poisoning or allergic reaction and seek medical care if concerning symptoms develop. Usually a small taste won’t cause major issues in otherwise healthy people. But never knowingly eat bacon after finding mold on it, even if you don’t get sick once. Moldy bacon should always be discarded, as mold risks are too unpredictable per individual. Don’t take chances with your health.

Can You Cook and Consume Moldy Bacon?

Some sources claim cooking moldy bacon thoroughly until crispy kills the mold and makes the bacon safe to eat. However, this is controversial. Health agencies consider it risky for these reasons:

Mold roots may penetrate too deeply to kill.
Toxins can withstand cooking temperatures.
Spores spread through cooking can trigger allergic reactions.
It’s impossible to verify the bacon is fully safe afterwards.

Heating moldy bacon may reduce risks somewhat but cannot guarantee full elimination of mold pathogens or toxins. If the bacon looks moldy, it’s always better and safer to throw it out rather than try salvaging it through cooking. Don’t take chances with molds.

The Bottom Line on Eating Moldy Bacon

Finding that fuzzy green or white mold on your bacon is disheartening. But no matter how tiny the spot of mold appears, health experts universally agree the entire package must be discarded. Mold colonization extends further than visible, and the released toxins and bacteria make the bacon too high-risk to consume. While cooking moldy bacon may seem to salvage it, safety cannot be guaranteed due to lingering unseen mold and toxins. Always err on the safe side and throw out bacon at the first sign of mold. No leftovers are worth a nasty case of food poisoning or serious long-term health impacts. Pay attention to bacon storage conditions to avoid mold in the first place.

can you eat moldy bacon

IT FEELS SLIMY

Fresh bacon that’s safe to consume should feel soft, yet firm to the touch. If you go to grab some bacon and find it slimy, something has gone awry. While some may say that slime is just water leaking out of bacon, this isn’t true. Slime actually occurs when certain types of bacteria begin breaking down the meat.

If you notice that your bacon feels slimy, it’s almost certainly been colonized by bacteria. That means you should toss your bacon rather than risk sickening yourself and your family.

Fresh bacon should have tantalizing strips of white fat marbled with pinkish-red meat. However, this isn’t always the case with a spoiled product.

If you put bacon in the fridge for a week, you might see that it has turned green, gray, or brown. Once again, this discoloration indicates bacteria and/or fungi have colonized your bacon. If you’re guessing this means it’s time to toss your bacon, you’re right!.

Many bacteria, yeasts, and fungi are invisible to the naked-eyed, but some fungi can form on the surface of bacon. According to the USDA, the spores on mold are completely visible. So if you notice any type of mold or growth on the product, your bacon has definitely gone bad.

You might want to cut off the moldy part of the bacon and cook the rest of it, but you shouldn’t. Though you might not be able to see them, fungi are probably growing in the bacon if you can see anything else.

How to Prevent Bacon From Going Bad

When you bring home bacon, you want to be able to enjoy every last savory bit. To make this happen, be sure you store this meat product properly.

You should always store both cooked and uncooked bacon in the refrigerator or freezer. The low temperatures will slow down the growth of harmful microbes that cause spoilage, increasing bacon’s shelf life. After cooking bacon, let it cool to room temperature before putting it in the fridge or freezer.

Another tip is to make sure your bacon is as airtight as possible. If you’re storing your bacon in a plastic bag, squeeze out excess air before sealing. At the very least, place your bacon in a sealed storage container.

What Happens If You Eat Mold?

FAQ

Can eating moldy bacon make you sick?

Again, if you eat mold, the odds are high that nothing will happen or you may experience a slight gastrointestinal upset. “You would need a very under-developed immune system and to eat a ton of mold in order to get sick,” Detwiler says. “Even that is not likely to kill you.”

What does bacon mold look like?

If your bacon matches these descriptions, it’s safe to eat. However, if the bacon has green spots (mold), or is dull gray or even brown in color, then it’s not suitable to eat. Touch the bacon and check for a slimy texture.

What does spoiled bacon look like?

The most notable sign of rancid bacon is a change in appearance. Bacon that has gone bad doesn’t retain its redness and will instead take on a brown, gray, or greenish hue, and the color itself will seem faded. Rancid bacon also takes on an unpleasant odor and may become sticky or slimy.

Can bacteria be cooked out of bacon?

Some foodborne pathogenic microorganisms that can be found in pork, as well as other meats and poultry, are Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Toxoplasma gondii, Campylobacter, Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes. They are all destroyed by cooking.

Can you eat moldy food?

If you see mold on food that’s been lingering in your fridge, your first thought is probably to automatically toss it. But there are some foods—not many, but some—that are safe to eat moldy, if you handle them correctly. The biggest problem with moldy foods is that cutting away the visibly moldy sections isn’t fully getting rid of the mold.

Can one eat bacon with diverticulosis?

You can eat bacon with diverticulosis, but it is not the most recommended. In a person with diverticulosis, it is recommended to consume foods with soluble fiber such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes.

Does bacon go bad?

Is it safe to eat mold?

While most people will not experience adverse reactions, it is unsafe to consume mold. “A lot of problems with the mold is that it can harbor other infections or cohabitation, bacterial infections, and those can obviously carry different ramifications,” said Lee. This includes listeria.

What foods can be salvageable if you eat moldy food?

Peanut butter. Moldy foods that are salvageable include those with lower moisture content: hard cheeses with a hard rind (like cheddar and Swiss), or hard vegetables such as cabbage, bell peppers and carrots.

What foods should be thrown away if moldy?

Additionally, she says certain foods absolutely need to be thrown away if they’re moldy, including: Soft vegetables and fruits, such as cucumbers, tomatoes and peaches. Lunch meats such as deli ham. Yogurt. Jams and jellies. Restaurant leftovers. Peanut butter.