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Monday, May 4, 2020

Cheese Mold And The Issue Of Threshold Phenomena In Medicine And Public Health

How to Cut a Stilton Cheese - Not the way Recommended by the GHI

Dear Maria. 

Over the course of my 73 years, I’ve come to realize that the popular press is disproportionately drawn to "the sensational," and then "they" sensationalize the subject even more. 

A couple of years ago, NPR ran a report about a fellow in California who insisted that every Starbucks-style coffee cup be branded with a "Carcinogen Warning" because, as I recall, the material from which those cups is made releases an infinitesimal amount of carcinogen when a chemical reaction is catalyzed by the introduction of hot coffee. 

I remember that it was a very engaging radio report that concluded with a tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the day was soon coming when public health authorities would require a warning sign on the inside of all exit doors in public buildings saying: “If you exit through this door in daylight hours, you will immediately enter a Carcinogenic Zone,” referring of course to the fact that ultraviolet light is a known carcinogen. 

You may be aware of the medical expression “ infective dose," a concept that means exactly what it says. 

In other words, there is a minimum dose level of pathogenic bacteria or pathogenic viruses, or pathogenic substances that must be exceeded in order that an person take ill."

When there is less than an infective dose, pathogens will enter a person's body but are vanishingly unlikely to cause illness.

These so-called "threshold phenomena" are critically important in all realms of human experience, and it is worth keeping them in mind when contemplating any issue that may (or may not) become problematic.

Sadly, many people in medicine, public health and the pharmaceutical industry "grow their programs" and "sell their products" by scaring the bejeezus out of people or, at least, by making people think that the presence of ANY detectable pathogen/threat/menace is reason to freak out

Some years ago I made a calculation and learned that a single half ounce sugar cube -- if allowed to dissolve and disperse uniformly throughout Honeoye Lake -- would increase the sugar content of the entire lake so that the change could be measured with existing technology. 

So… 

When you read the following post about mold on cheese -- and whether or not it can be eaten -- please keep humankind's sensationalist behaviors in mind.
  
"What Kind Of Mold Is Okay On Mold? ... And What Kind Isn't?"

So, while there is an argument that most molds that form on the surface of cheese after you've purchased it are innocuous, it is certainly best to aggressively cut out any mold that is not blue and certainly cut out all mold that is black or grey. 

Consider this excerpt from the blog post above: "According to Morillo, it’s pretty rare that you’ll find mold growing on cheese that actually presents a health concern. With the exception of a few types that are actually quite rare to find on cheese, such as the dark black-gray mold Aspergillus niger, most mold isn’t going to hurt you at all." 

Yuuuvvvvvooooooo toneladas!!!

Daddy man  









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