Pin mold or Gray mold or Bread mold usually causes the molding of bread stored in a moist place. It is also occurs frequently on fruits and may appear as “whiskers” or peaches, grapes and other fruits shipped long distances in boxes.
Bread moulds need a food source to grow and survive. Mold is a fungus that requires other living organisms to get the energy to grow since it doesn't produce its own food the way plants do, for example. The ingredients present in bread serve as the food source for the growth of bread moulds. Essentially, anything that contains carbon atoms provides the nutrients necessary for moulds to grow and thrive.
Bread mouldiness occurs when the bread is stored under high relative humidity and high relative temperature. The colour of molds that grow on bread varies from white, golden yellow to green-gray, depending on the species and the degree of sporulation.
Contamination by moulds can be prevented by irradiating the goods with infrared rays or microwaves, by using modified atmospheres during packaging, or by adding chemical preservatives such as propionic acid. The maximal concentration of propionate that is allowed for packaged sliced breads by the Argentine Alimentary Code (AAC) is 0.4% (wt/wt). Most bakeries in the country used this upper limit concentration for the conservation of bread.
Bread spoilage by mould
