Wouldn’t mold or mold spores have to somehow be present already to develop? I don’t understand how this happens with sealed containers or in houses if mold isn’t already present to begin festering. I’ve always been confused how it just appears out of thin air? Like where does it come from 😭
In: Chemistry
Small amounts of mold and mold spores are present basically everywhere, and if it doesn’t come from inside your house, it comes in with air from outdoors.
“Sealed” packages just contain food that was grown in a field or packaged in a factory so they would not automatically be 100% mold-free because it’s been packed up.
There are methods of packing (canning) where you kill any possible mold with heat before sealing it, and it will last almost forever. Shelf-stable foods like prepackaged snacks aren’t exactly sterilized in this way, but they use lower-moisture recipes or contain preservatives that make them a poor environment for mold or bacteria to grow.
Mold spores float in the air. They are in every home, and were likely floating around wherever your sealed food was initially packaged. So even if you never open it, eventually it can still grow mold.
>Wouldn’t mold or mold spores have to somehow be present already to develop
Yes, and they are. Every surface in your environment other than one that’s just been sterilized has mold on it. Mold spores float through the air both outdoors and in every room in every building you’re in. When you put leftovers in a plastic container to put in your fridge, there are already mold spores and have landed on your food. Food that’s packaged in a factory already has mold on it when it’s sealed in the package – that’s why so many foods are full of preservatives. Anything that’s been exposed to air has mold on it. The only way to eliminate mold and other microorganisms from stored food or other items are to seal the container and *then* sterilize it.
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