The top layer of my fresh salsa has white spots on it. Can I eat the rest?

I wouldn’t. You have no idea what’s growing under the surface that’s microscopic.

I would. But then again, I pick off the mold on bread and eat the rest.

Thats mold.
I would not eat it.
Gross.
Better to be safe than sorry!
Unless you enjoy food poisoning…

You guys are all wimps. A little mold never hurt anyone.

Was it in the fridge? It shouldn’t matter how tight the lid was on if it was. If it wasn’t, I would definitely not eat it, opened salsa should be refrigerated. If it was, I wouldn’t eat it because it normally takes salsa a long time to go bad in the fridge, once it starts to grow it’s usually gone. It’s perhaps more troubling that it started to grow in only a couple of days.

Throw it out!!! You don’t need it that bad. It’s gone funky.

@AstroChuck: exactly, mold is fine. I’d eat it too. It’s just salsa. Smells ok, looks ok, if it tastes okay…ur golden

well I’m not gonna lie it’s been there over a week… but it’s fresh!!

Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!

@sevenfourteen. And there you have it. A clear consensus. Let us know how it turns out, or if we need to send flowers. xoxo
ps. I question your use of the word “fresh”, but that’s just me.~

The salsa has gone bad. The bacteria is there, just not all visible yet.

Molds are fungi, as are mushrooms. Like mushrooms, some are edible, some are toxic. You shouldn’t eat an unknown mold any more than you would eat an unknown mushroom. Many of the molds that are toxic will release their mycotoxins into the surrounding food, so even if you remove visible mold, toxins can remain.

So, are you feeling lucky?

I take it you have never had food poisoning before. Because once you learn the magic of simultaneously vomiting and explosive diarrhea you will never roll the dice again.

I know times are tough, but are you really that hungry?

Give it to me. I’ll eat it. I’ve been scooping mold off leftovers and other food all my life and I’ve yet to get sick from it.

When I dip, you dip, we dip!

I wouldn’t eat it, myself.

Don’t play Russian Roulette with food poisoning. At least test it on @AstroChuck first~

I’m with @mowens as far as picking off bread mold and eating what appears to be good bread (even though there is undoubtedly some not-yet-visible mold on that, too), because I don’t worry much about bread molds.

But I also agree completely with @Harp and anyone else who said that they avoid “unknown” molds, and the white mold that grows on salsa is unknown to me. I’d chuck it.

“When in doubt, throw it out.” Words to live by—literally.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that acidic foods spoiled more slowly than no-acidic foods. So if salsa has grown mold, it really isn’t fresh. I wouldn’t eat it, but I’ve done the food poisoning thing twice and am trying to avoid it!

If it’s been there a week, it’s not ‘fresh’. This stuff is REALLY that important to you that you want to eat it???!!!

Foodservice rules say that if it’s the least bit contaminated, you should pitch the thing and get a new one.

Surprised the heck out of me when the freshly-roasted chicken that I had been asked to return to the Meat Dept. was promptly deep-sixed by the guy behind the counter.

Extra Animals… no thanks, not worth it- like yogurt that’s gone bad, gets that _fifth animal!

I also question your use of the word “fresh”. How old does it have to be before you consider it old? A year?

I would (and have done) scoop the white bits and about an inch down and toss that. No problem, no food poisoning, no dying. People are getting ridiculous about this issue. Botulism doesn’t produce mold, nor does salmonella- both common causes of food poisoning.

You might want to eat it if you’re dealing with an STD.
Otherwise, no.

True @faye ; my personal variable on this issue is the acidic level of the food containing the extra animals and weither to take off the top layer and consume the rest!

ok so I left it until I figured out what to do and this morning there was so much pressure that had built up in the container that it blew off in my face- thus leading to the new salsa I bought at the store. But the question still remains- funny white spots that don’t look like traditional mold and a build up of pressure… what could it have been?

The exploding can be a sign of botulism. You don’t buy dented cans or cans with their ends popped out because of potential botulism. The white spots can still be mold. Mold can be white, green or pink. (There are likely other colors, those are just the one’s I’ve encountered personally.)

The exploding could also be the result of fermentation. Fermentation produces gases that will swell a container lid off. You might get a kidk out of how homemade sauerkraut has bee made for centuries. Oh, I can’t even name all the foods that grow to the end deliciousness by people scraping the mold off and letting them sit longer.

@faye – Yes, I forgot about fermentation. I like sauerkraut, but I’m not sure I would feel the same about fermented salsa! :~)