The key for any mold sensitive individual is using the freshest ingredients, and cooking from scratch as much as possible. Don’t let foods or drinks sit before discarding or freezing them, and clean storage containers, food bins and appliances on a regular basis.
Though you might not realize it, coffee and tea leaves have mold spores on them. If you have mold allergies but can't bare to be without your morning cup of joe make sure that your coffee and tea are consumed immediately after brewing, and then discarded. Although there is no set time that defines what constitutes fresh or old coffee, suffice it to say, the fresher the better. With so many different types of brewing machines on the market today, consider a single serve model and eliminate all doubt. Clean the coffee basket every day in a bleach/water solution to prevent mold from growing.
Mold sensitive people should avoid all foods made from leftovers, especially if you are unsure of how the food was originally cooked and stored. Prepare meals made from fresh foods, including meats and fish, which are less than 24 hours old.
Discard any food that has mold spots, and any food that has been stored with food that has mold spots. Again, mold spores are tiny and infiltrate nearby foods. If one of the berries you have stored becomes molded the spores can infect the rest of the berries in the container.
Mold cannot be cut or washed off foods that will be consumed by allergic individuals. There are three components to mold: The root, which threads its way deep into foods; the stalk which pushes through the outside of the food; the spores which form on the stalk and infect nearby foods. Even if you are able to cut the spores off the food it is unlikely that you would be able to completely remove the roots. They are threadlike and travel very deep into whatever they are growing on. The softer the food, the deeper the root.
Avoid canned foods. Though there are strict guidelines regarding food processing, not every brown spot will be removed from every tomato that is used to make your favorite spaghetti sauce. One brown spot can infect an entire vat of sauce with enough spores to affect anyone allergic to mold.
Wash everything before preparing or storing. You might not think about washing watermelon before you eat it since you don't eat the rind, but washing will help prevent contamination throughout the fruit. When you slice through the rind of a food, you are dragging all the external mold spores right down into the meat where it will be ingested.
Wash and peel all fruits and vegetables unless they are grown from trees. All ground grown crops carry molds found naturally in the soil. Though they might not be harmful to most people, they can certainly affect a person with mold allergies. Discard external leaves from all fruits and vegetables like cabbage and lettuce for the same reason.
One of the most important ways you can protect against mold exposure is to immediately freeze your foods. Freeze meats and fish as soon as you come home from the store. Freeze any unused or leftover portions of food as soon as you get up from the table. Don’t give mold a chance to begin growing.
Thaw frozen foods in the microwave just before preparing. Never thaw foods by letting them sit at room temperature.
Clean the inside of the refrigerator one a month with a baking soda and water solution. Use a bleach water solution to clean the rubber gasket around the door. If any food in the refrigerator has molded, clean the entire fridge: those little mold spores just travel everywhere.
Think fresh, cook from scratch, store immediately and you will have a far better chance at escaping inadvertent mold contamination.