I was cruising the web and came across an interesting article regarding tomatoes and mold spots. I thought I saved it but now can't find it and have searched the web and still no luck.
The author, a PHd in something...states that tomatoes that have any visible signs of mold should never be used for anything, even when the moldy part is cut off. He said that the mold spores are throughout the tomato, you just can't see them. If the tomatoes are canned, it is a possibility that the mold will not be completely killed/rendered inactive in a hotwater bath. Pressure canned tomatoes were safe, albeit the mold spores can effect the taste over time. He also said that if you use your knife to remove the mold, if it is not washed in anti-bacterial soap and rinsed well, you will be spreading the mold spores to everything else you cut. For home gardeners, he recommended varieties that are not prone to splitting because these are the ones that usually develop mold in the cracks.
Carol over at the harvest forum added this:
I did find this summary from Colorado Extension. Also saw the same information on other sites but haven't yet run across the sort of scientific article you mention.
It looks as if mold in soft foods/foods with high water content (jams, cucumbers, peaches, tomatoes etc.) is the issue because mold travels so quickly in soft flesh.
So you could cut a moldy spot out of a
potato and use the rest but not a cucumber or tomato.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing this. I learned something.
found this link [url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4191/is_20020515/ai_n10002474][/url]