Subtopic	Posts	Updated	Creator
	Eat Shrooms from contamed cakes?	5	12/19 07:33pm

Hello,

One of my substrate jars which is about 95% colonized has a small spot about the size of a pencil eraser that is brown in the middle and yellow on the edges. It just showed up in the past two days. It also seems that other yellowish specs are showing up in other random places. I figure at this point that contamination would not be easy because the high level of colonization. Perhaps it is too much moisture? Could this be anything other than contamination? I sure hope so.

Any info would be great.

TS

By Lichen (Lichen) on Friday, August 31, 2001 - 10:39 pm:

It is definitely a contamination, so sorry. The best thing to do is toss the jar. The reason for this has been amply laid out here before, but it can be so serious I will go on repeating the same warnings:

As has been said before, one good whiff of some yellow mold spores is a ticket to liver cancer ten years down the road.

Bacteria can be deadly almost immediately. You could breathe in some stuff that will kill or maim you.

Even if you take a spoon and cut it out, it most likely will not eradicate the contam. I have done this (none too carefully I might add considering the risks; you could probably get away with it if you have a glovebox and a respirator) but the contamination almost NEVER goes away entirely. I have cut a single cake several times, got it to flush out ok, but after the first flush (much diminished) the cake always rotted, consumed with unseen contams which then gave way to trichoderma.

Sometimes whole batches of jars can go bad. Somewhere you've made a mistake; you need to go back and isolate the cause, and not try to eradicate the contam that you already have. It's not worth it.

So, rule of thumb: if a jar is contaminated, toss it. Better luck next time. A dozen jars of substrate takes only an hour to set up.

By Nan (Nanook) on Tuesday, October 23, 2001 - 10:11 pm:

OK OK OK guys...

Here is the last word on inhaling in contams. It's not the bacteria or yeasts that are gonna bother you, they stink but they don't hurt you unless you eat them.

The problem, and the danger, comes from mold spores. Probably the most dangerious is yellow mold. Yellow mold is rare in jars but it does occur. It commonly infests graineries and infected grain is ordered destroyed by the USDA & FDA. Yellow mold has been identified as being a powerful liver toxin and carcinogen: it causes liver cancer and the exposures required to do so are minute. One good inhaltion of yellow mold spores and your chances of liver cancer within 10 years goes up 10000 fold.

Then there is trich, or green mold. Green mold can cause severe respiratory distress and respiratory failure. In people with alergies this can be complicated by anapolexic (spel?) shock. IM injections of epinephrine must be administered within minutes or respiratory failure typically results

It's nothing to brush off. I got a lungfull of trich spores cleaning out a straw bed once and it nearly felled me. My throat was on fire, lungs congested severely, difficulty breathing... And I have no mold alergies.

Just be careful what comes out of those jars and beds ladies and gentleman. Better off safe than sorry. I don't want to see anybody getting hurt.

Nan

By Tripitydoodah (Tripitydoodah) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 01:06 am:

hey again yall. Very curious to know if it is safe to eat shrooms that are growing on cakes that are infected with penicillium or trichoderma.

By Marx2k (Marx2k) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 01:09 am:

Basic rule of thumb is if you have an infected cake, throw it out.

Why take chances?

By Trollhunter (Trollhunter) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 01:48 am:

better safe than sorry right? it is not worth the possible pain and suffering to eat them.

By Tripitydoodah (Tripitydoodah) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 03:14 am:

thank you but still looking for a specific answer concerning these contaminates

By Nan (Nanook) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 03:20 am:

Nobody here will advise you to eat fruit from a contamed cake, regardless of the type of contam.

People do eat shrooms from mold contammed cakes, but nobody is going to tell you it is OK if that's what you are looking for.

By jack cracker (Cptcracker) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 03:48 am:

I agree fully with the others. Nobody should be eating shrooms from contaminated cakes, imo. Among the aspergillis and penicillium spores there are bad things floating around out there, and even if you can identify the specific contaminant, it may not be alone. Growing in such a tightly sealed environment is the difference, so if you don't want to give up on your cakes, put them outside in the ground and see if any fruitbodies come up.

By Hatcher (Hatcher) on Monday, October 29, 2001 - 04:54 am:

One of my mottos...don't take unnecessary risks..

By Glassman (Glassman) on Monday, November 12, 2001 - 06:22 am:

Well, my FOAF had this cake and before it started pinning there was some green mold showing on the surface. Acting quickly he sterilized a knife, dissected away the area, and doused with H2O2. (no lime available) I don't think the H2O2 does much to fight the green mold, but it couldn't hurt. Anyway, it seemed all was well and the cake flushed nicely. Today though he found a spot of green on the dissected spot. Does anyone have input on whether these fruit are safe for harvest and consumption?

By quote: (Quote) on Monday, November 12, 2001 - 01:23 pm:

if it were me, i'd go ahead and harvest now and pitch that cake.
briefly rinse them off then dry.
they should be ok to eat, then.

By Jose Cruz (Vato) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 05:45 pm:

I have a question for a friend that wont take my advise. If your jar is contaminated should you a)keep growing out your jar and cut out the contams? Or should you b)throw the jar out because chances are contams, especially green mold spores can be very lethal to the rest of your jars?

Please I need as many replies as I can get,If you dont respond the contam jars will sit right next to the healthy ones.

By Brettiejams (Brettiejams) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 06:12 pm:

Best/safest to just chuck the contaminated ones.

By nuecrew (Nue) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 06:38 pm:

What ever you do don't call 911, they have no experience with mold! Chuck the green and when you do, do it outside if you can. Or go into the bathroom and quickly crush it with your hand while you flush it. We all recently read about how certain deadly spores can persist inside buildings for weeks. Green is the same.

By Martaxus (Martaxus) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 09:13 pm:

If you do dispose of it indoors, be sure to Lysol the entire room afterwards. If you put it in a garbage bin, spray the remains with Lysol, then seal inside a plastic bag.

But yes, odds are an unbirthed cake already contam'd will only bring further heatbreak.

By quote: (Quote) on Sunday, December 16, 2001 - 11:14 pm:

get rid of it asap.

By jack cracker (Cptcracker) on Monday, December 17, 2001 - 01:34 am:

dump it, flush it, toss it in the trash, but get rid of it. it is too easy to start over. don't consider it a loss, just another learning experience.

playing with unknowns can be dangerous. don't take any chances.

By jim brown (Shrhobbyist) on Monday, December 17, 2001 - 06:26 am:

Burn it. Send it to Hell!

By wycrobro (Newman) on Monday, December 17, 2001 - 04:45 pm:

I would open it and take a big wiff (green mold smells nice)
And make sure you open it in the same room as the rest of your(friends jars)It wouldnt hurt to loosen the lids and un tape them first though.

By venusfly (Venus) on Monday, December 17, 2001 - 06:24 pm:

smell it...if you die then it is contaminated...if you don't die then become a Jehovahs witness

By quote: (Quote) on Monday, December 17, 2001 - 11:22 pm:

c'mon guys, this guy is looking for help,
not smart-ass comments.

By Mr. B (Argonaut) on Tuesday, December 18, 2001 - 12:29 am:

green means throw it out asap, outside of your living space.

By wycrobro (Newman) on Tuesday, December 18, 2001 - 02:50 am:

Sorry no harm intended. just kiddin around.
Yea dude pitch it outside if you can or open it in a zero air flow area and put the jar inside your garbage bag before you open it. have some lysol handy too.

By Dr. Cubesis III (Newbieshroomer) on Tuesday, December 18, 2001 - 06:32 pm:

Hmmmm,

Out of three contamed cakes, I have saved all three. My first flushes to actually were from contam cakes... In each case I waited until the cake was ready to birth, cut out the green ( half a cake in some cases ) washed, and added to a 1 cake terrarium with 3/4 water 1/4 peroxide...
Fanned and misted twice a day...

Shrooms turned out just fine
I won't do that anymore, but as my VERY FIRST cakes I found it a neat experience saving them...