Which Food Will Mold the Fastest?

Objective

To see what kind of food, left un-refrigerated, will mold first.

Project Goals

• To leave food out to see which one will mold first.
• To see what foods need the least refrigeration.

Materials and Equipment

• Banana
• Cheese
• Milk
• Bread
• A cabinet in which to place the samples for one week
• Paper and pencil
• Camera

Introduction

What type of food do you think will mold the fastest when placed in a cabinet together? Many foods need to be refrigerated in order to stay fresh and edible. The question is, what type of food will go bad first? When you think of dairy foods, you think most of these require refrigeration. When put to the test along with bread and bananas, which will mold the quickest? It is important to know as some molds can make you very sick if eaten.

Moldy Bread

Moldy Cheese

Research Questions

• Which type of food will mold (spoil) the quickest?
• Does dairy mold faster if not refrigerated?

Terms, Concepts and Questions to Start Background Research

• You need to know what foods are usually refrigerated and which are not.
• You need to research mold to see what it looks like and how it spreads.

Experimental Procedure

1. Gather all of your sample foods and make sure they are fresh and not yet moldy.
2. Take the banana, bread, and cheese and put them each on a separate plate.
3. Pour milk in to a glass.
4. Take pictures of the food as it appears when fresh.
5. You will need to put your samples in a cabinet. They will all need to be in the same place at the same temperature so that you get the most accurate results
6. Wait 4-5 days and check on the samples. Have any of them molded?
7. Document your results.
8. Take pictures.

Bibliography

1. Moldy Bread Picture
2. Moldy Cheese Picture
3. Answers.com "What happens if you eat moldy bread?"
4. Free Science Project "The Mold Experiment"