[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-detail":3},{"lang":4,"article":5,"alternate":20,"related":21,"latest":30},"en",{"id":6,"slug":7,"title":8,"content":9,"summary":10,"thumbnail":11,"metaDescription":12,"metaKeywords":13,"created":14,"modified":15,"author":16,"authorEn":16,"categoryId":17,"commentCount":18,"thumbnailToContent":19},12557,"stellarx-mold-food-safety","Why a Batch of Black Sesame Paste Tested 27× the Mold Limit","\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">In its latest round of food-safety sampling, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration flagged a batch of \"Weiwei\" (维维) unsweetened black sesame paste produced on \u003Cstrong>August 13, 2025\u003C\u002Fstrong> (320 g per bag). All \u003Cstrong>five samples\u003C\u002Fstrong> from the batch failed the mold test, with the highest reading reaching \u003Cstrong>2,800 CFU\u002Fg — 27 times\u003C\u002Fstrong> the national limit of \u003Cstrong>100 CFU\u002Fg\u003C\u002Fstrong> set by GB 19640-2016 for reconstituted cereal products. When asked, the company's customer service confirmed that \u003Cstrong>the entire affected batch had already been recalled\u003C\u002Fstrong>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20260926\u002F9738896a06a9487da4ecdf6759a85bb5.png\" alt=\"Illustration of a moldy black sesame paste package\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Behind the headline numbers is a story worth telling from the ground up — what mold actually is, why a bag of powder is such an easy target, and what a \"27× over limit\" reading really means. Let's take a closer look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>What Is Mold, Exactly?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Mold is the everyday name for a large group of \u003Cstrong>filamentous fungi\u003C\u002Fstrong> — the same kingdom of life that includes mushrooms and yeast. A mold colony is built from \u003Cstrong>hyphae\u003C\u002Fstrong>: long, branching threads that weave together into a visible network called \u003Cstrong>mycelium\u003C\u002Fstrong>, the fuzzy growth you see on spoiled food. What you usually notice first, though, are the \u003Cstrong>spores\u003C\u002Fstrong> — tiny reproductive bodies, often just a few micrometers across, that form at the tips of stalks. They float in the air almost everywhere; given moisture, warmth, and food, a single spore can germinate and grow into a whole new colony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Because spores are so small and so abundant, mold is something you rarely see in detail with the naked eye. Under a microscope, however, the structure is beautiful: radiating hyphae, spherical spore heads, and branching networks that look like miniature forests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20260926\u002F37ce79db69c143bab069716b3965ca5e.png\" alt=\"Illustration of mold hyphae and spore heads under a microscope\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>Why Powdered Foods Are a Mold's Paradise\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Not all foods are equally vulnerable — and powdered mixes like black sesame paste are about as vulnerable as it gets, for three reasons:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- \u003Cstrong>Abundant nutrition.\u003C\u002Fstrong> They are packed with starch and sugars, an ideal carbon source for fungal growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- \u003Cstrong>Huge surface area.\u003C\u002Fstrong> A powder exposes far more surface per gram than a solid piece of food, giving spores more landing and germination sites.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- \u003Cstrong>Moisture attraction.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Powders readily absorb humidity from the air. Once the surface moisture crosses a threshold (what food scientists call water activity), spores germinate quickly — and clumps inside a bag can create tiny damp micro-zones that keep the colony thriving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">That is why regulators treat mold as one of the \u003Cstrong>core hygiene indicators\u003C\u002Fstrong> for reconstituted cereal products: if a batch shows heavy mold growth, something in the process allowed moisture and contamination to meet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>What \"27× the Limit\" Actually Means\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">The unit \u003Cstrong>CFU\u002Fg\u003C\u002Fstrong> stands for \u003Ci>colony-forming units per gram\u003C\u002Fi> — a count of how many viable mold colonies can be cultured from each gram of the product. The legal limit of 100 CFU\u002Fg already assumes some background exposure is unavoidable in food. A reading of \u003Cstrong>2,800 CFU\u002Fg\u003C\u002Fstrong> means the sample carried \u003Cstrong>28 times more culturable mold\u003C\u002Fstrong> than the standard tolerates — not a minor blemish, but evidence of serious spoilage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">The detail that matters most is that \u003Cstrong>all five samples from the batch exceeded the limit\u003C\u002Fstrong>. Random, one-off contamination rarely hits every sample at once; when an entire batch fails, it points to a systemic breakdown somewhere in production, storage, or transport rather than an unlucky accident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>Why Mold Is the Core Indicator of Food Hygiene\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Mold is a warning flag for two distinct kinds of risk:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- \u003Cstrong>The mold itself.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Ingesting heavily spoiled food can cause acute gastrointestinal illness — abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting — and mold spores are also common allergens and respiratory irritants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- \u003Cstrong>The toxins it leaves behind.\u003C\u002Fstrong> Far more dangerous are the \u003Cstrong>mycotoxins\u003C\u002Fstrong> some molds produce as metabolic byproducts, such as aflatoxins. Mycotoxins are largely \u003Cstrong>heat-stable\u003C\u002Fstrong>, so ordinary cooking does not destroy them, and chronic low-level exposure is associated with damage to the liver and kidneys. Health experts quoted in the report warn that long-term intake of mycotoxin-contaminated food can steadily harm these organs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">In short, mold is not just \"something growing on the food\" — it is a proxy for whether the whole chain, from raw material to your bowl, stayed clean and dry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>Where Did the Chain Go Wrong?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Reports point to a familiar set of suspects for powdered foods:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- raw ingredients exposed to moisture during storage;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- inadequate disinfection in the production workshop;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- defects in packaging seals that let humidity back in; and\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">- poor temperature and humidity control during warehousing and transport.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Any single one of these links can introduce spores or give them the moisture they need. For a product as moisture-sensitive as a powdered mix, the chain is only as strong as its weakest link.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20260926\u002Fb00d286064ac45fca46adbe7335247ae.png\" alt=\"Illustration of moisture and spores spreading in a powdered food bag\">\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>The Lesson Beyond One Brand\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">The same bulletin tested \u003Cstrong>1,870 batches\u003C\u002Fstrong> across 17 food categories and found only \u003Cstrong>7 non-compliant\u003C\u002Fstrong> — a pass rate above 99%. Most producers do it right most of the time; the failures that slip through are the ones that teach the industry where vigilance must live: at the factory floor, not just in the boardroom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">The brand involved is a household name from the 1990s (\"维维豆奶，欢乐开怀\"), which has recently returned to its core business under a state-owned controlling shareholder. Governance reform, however, does not automatically upgrade the hygiene controls on a production line. As one economist put it, the lifeblood of a food company lies in frontline production management — and a single serious food-safety incident can erode decades of brand trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ch2 style=\"color:#111;font-size:21px;line-height:1.4;margin:28px 0 12px;\">\u003Cstrong>Explore the Moldy Micro-world with WWAI\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp style=\"margin:0 0 18px;\">Curious what a mold colony actually looks like under the microscope, or want to know how fungi reproduce in real time? \u003Cstrong>WWAI\u003C\u002Fstrong> is an AI-powered biology encyclopedia that answers your biology questions instantly — from fungus identification to food-safety science — and lets you observe real microscope slide specimens online. Just search \"WWAI\" in your app store and download it today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cdiv class=\"dp-template-card\" style=\"border-radius:8px;box-shadow:0 2px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.1);margin:10px 0;max-width:100%;overflow:hidden;width:100%;\">\n \u003Ca style=\"display:block;text-decoration:none;\" href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fyun-hub.chat\u002Flink\u002F?app=wwai&clickid=stellarx&dplink=qid%3Dq618\" target=\"_blank\">\u003Cimg class=\"image_resized\" style=\"display:block;height:auto;max-width:100%;width:100%;\" src=\"\u002Fattachment\u002F20260824\u002F5ba5dd3c38404fe785f43c44423830de.png\" alt=\"5ba5dd3c38404fe785f43c44423830de\">\n  \u003Cbutton style=\"align-items:center;background-color:#1f983e;border-radius:0 0 25px 25px;border-style:none;color:#ffffff;cursor:pointer;display:flex;font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:19px;height:40px;justify-content:center;padding:0;width:100%;\">EXPLORE NOW\u003C\u002Fbutton>\u003C\u002Fa>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:#8a8a8a;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 10px;\">\u003Ci>References:\u003C\u002Fi>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:#8a8a8a;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 6px;\">\u003Ci>[1] Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration, Food Safety Sampling Bulletin No. 25, 2026.\u003C\u002Fi>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp style=\"color:#8a8a8a;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 6px;\">\u003Ci>[2] GB 19640-2016, National Food Safety Standard for Reconstituted Cereal Products (冲调谷物制品).\u003C\u002Fi>\u003C\u002Fp>","","\u002Fattachment\u002F20260925\u002Fdcd22265a90a444ea8fb78da10abd20e.png","Shanghai regulators found a batch of black sesame paste 27× over the mold limit. Learn what mold is, why powdered foods spoil so fast, and how mycotoxins threaten health — explore the micro-world under the microscope with WWAI.","stellarx, wwai, mold, food safety, mycotoxins, black sesame paste","2026-09-25 21:24:00","2026-09-26 13:47:13","Science Guide Wwai",77,0,false,null,{"prev":22,"next":26},{"id":23,"slug":24,"title":25,"categoryId":17},12558,"stellarx-gout-uric-acid","Why Gout Is Surging in Young Men — and Its Link to Erectile Dysfunction",{"id":27,"slug":28,"title":29,"categoryId":17},12556,"stellarx-fall-webworm-biological-control","Why Are Beijing's Trees Suddenly Full of Fuzzy Caterpillars?",[31,36,41,46],{"id":32,"slug":33,"title":34,"thumbnail":35,"categoryId":17},12685,"food-adulteration-history-bwxa","Ancient Food Was Never Pure: Urine, Lye, and Fake Fish","\u002Fattachment\u002F20261001\u002F03bbfa285e6545d6b3144a2fb3e790f9.webp",{"id":37,"slug":38,"title":39,"thumbnail":40,"categoryId":17},12684,"glowing-algae-story-zptc","When Lockdown Laziness Grew Glowing Algae","\u002Fattachment\u002F20261001\u002F2915a99ca6dd44bb99d4131bc2f639b5.webp",{"id":42,"slug":43,"title":44,"thumbnail":45,"categoryId":17},12683,"alpha-gal-syndrome-gmht","Why a Tick Bite Can Make You Allergic to Red Meat","\u002Fattachment\u002F20261001\u002Faa24a6f7e36b4b2fb5b8a0f6c3bfd1d8.webp",{"id":47,"slug":48,"title":49,"thumbnail":50,"categoryId":17},12682,"centipede-leg-count-comparison-lqzv","Who Has More Legs: House Centipede or Centipede?","\u002Fattachment\u002F20261001\u002Fb139d5c1b20648f39e4eca5fb29ac3f2.webp"]