Brown Rot: Is It Poisonous to Humans?

[bomba923]

"Brown Rot"

Is it poisonous to humans?

 

[hypatia]

If your talking about the fungi that affects fruit..its not a human pathogen. Tho eating large amounts, may give you a sour stomach.

 

[jim mcnamara]

Fungi produce a lot of ancillary compounds, for example, aflatoxins.
Which types of extra compounds depends on the species. Some fungi flavor cheese, others like aflatoxin-producing species are carcinogenic.

If it's Monilinia spp, it possibly is okay, but I personally would not eat it.
A Rhizopus stolinifera (storage rot) is smelly for the reason that it generates some foul tasting compunds. Rhizopus rot areas become fuzzy almost right away, Molilinia does not, it just kind of caves in.

 

[bomba923]

Hmm...what about bread mold? (another fungi)
Is it toxic/poisonous to humans?

 

[jim mcnamara]

Rhizopus stolonifera is bread mold. In general, when you do not know what a mold is and also know it's okay; be safe and don't eat it.


There are molds in cheese making, yeast is a fungus. These are edible.
Yet some edible cheeses are, um, stinky. So you can't tell just by smell.
Mushrooms come in lots of species, edible and super-toxic. You have to know 'em to pick 'em and eat 'em.

Short story: North American mushrooms have lookalikes in Eruope. The European lookalikes are safe, the North American ones are not. Folks in France often go on picnics and harvest wild mushrooms for lunch.

Following custom, new French Embassy staff (in the past) used to go out and get sick by picking and eating mushrooms around the Washington DC area. The Emabssy staff now knows not to do this; they have training.
I hope.