Have you ever experienced bread, fruits, or vegetables sitting on the counter or in the refrigerator after its expiration date? What about after the bread got wet? There appears to have a dark appearance to it after a few weeks of sitting and is no longer edible to be eaten. This is due to mold growing on or inside the bread, vegetables, or fruit. This type of mold is known as Rhizopus nigricans, also seen as Rhizopus stolonifera. This classification is a type of fungi (phylum Zygomycota) causing bread to turn black and form mold. Rhizopus is understood as a rot causing fungi. Nigricans are areas that have a dark pigmentation. Rhizopus nigricans is described as a unique, dark gray, blue, or yellow discoloration around the surface of the food and lives off of oxygen and moisture. This black bread mold falls into the domain category of eukarya and parasitic. Certain structures, known as rhizoids aid the fungus to release digestive enzymes and accumulate nutrients for the fungus to grow (Olbrantz, Christinia, 2011). This mold can from anywhere food may be present, especially those with sugar and starch. They have specific cells which are arranged into a more complex structure and tend to spread when the fungi is present. The mold can spread faster when the food has been exposed to water. Fruits and vegetables are a prime example because some of the time, they are moist with water. The spores, which we see on the molded bread, is found in the air, which causes the mold to spread at a faster rate as well. If this type of fungi has come in contact with any type of food, it is best to discard it to abstain from developing a possible infection.
