Turkey, tomato, and Swiss on a bed of romaine lettuce sandwiched between two slices of sourdough.

火雞肉片、番茄、瑞士乳酪放在羅美生菜上，夾在兩片酸麵包間。

Classic, but oh no!

真是經典，但噢不！

What's this? Mold? Ugh.

這是什麼？黴菌？呃。

But look, good news, the mold's only on part of the bread so I could just cut that away and be fine, right?

但看看，好消息是那黴菌只在一部份的麵包上，我直接把發霉部分切掉就好了，對吧？

There's no such thing as a clean part of moldy bread.

沒有所謂發霉麵包上乾淨的部分。

That's because mold is a fungus like mushrooms.

因為黴菌就像香菇一樣是菌類。

The caps on the surface are easy enough to spot, but there's a vast network of subterranean roots called hyphae that you can't see.

表面上的菌傘很容易發現，但是底下的根交織成一片廣大網絡，那叫做「菌絲」，而且是你看不見的。

So let's take another look at that bread of yours.

所以讓我們再來看看你那片麵包。

Ugh, disgusting.

呃，真噁心。

Well, maybe you can just grab another piece from the same loaf.

好吧，也許你可以直接從同一袋吐司中拿另一片。

Well, that's not such a good idea, either.

嗯，那也不是個很好的主意。

Because by the time the mold sprouts its fuzzy head, what you're really seeing is the reproductive part of the mold called sporangiums.

因為當黴菌毛茸茸的覆蓋物長出來時，你所看到的是已經再生過的黴菌叫做「孢子囊」。

Each sporangium releases tens of thousands of spores, so even though you can't see it, that entire loaf could be teeming with fungus.

每個孢子囊都會釋放出數以萬計的孢子，所以雖然你看不見，那整條吐司可能長滿了菌。

But it seems like such a waste to just throw it out.

但整個丟掉又好像很浪費。

After all, you eat mold on purpose all the time like the mold that goes into making cheese, soy sauce, and even life-saving antibiotics like penicillin.

最終，你總是會吃到黴菌的，像是你吃的起司、醬油都是黴菌做的，甚至能救命的抗生素盤尼西林也是黴菌做的。

Eating a little bit on your bread can't be that bad, right?

吃一點你麵包上的不會怎麼樣吧？

Well, ultimately, it's a gamble.

總而言之，這是在賭博。

Just like eating a wild mushroom.

就像吃野生香菇。

Many are fine, but some can be deadly.

許多都是可食用的，但有些卻會致命。

Mold is the same way.

黴菌也是同樣的。

There are thousands of different species of mold, many of which are harmless to humans.

有上千種不同的黴菌，許多對人類都是無害的。

But since so many types can sprout up on food, it's nearly impossible to know if what you're eating is safe.

但由於許多種都能在食物中長出，幾乎不可能知道你吃的那種是否安全。

Cladosporium, for example, can sometimes trigger allergies but is generally harmless, whereas other molds like Penicillium Crustosum produce harmful poisons called Mycotoxins.

例如，枝孢菌屬有時會引發過敏反應，但大體來說是無害的，然而其他黴菌像是貼皮狀青黴會產生有害的毒素，叫做「黴菌毒素」。

An elderly couple in 2005, for example, was admitted to the hospital after eating a can of soup contaminated with this kind of mold.

例如在 2005 年時，一對年老的夫妻被送進醫院，因為他們喝了一碗被這種菌污染的湯。

They had severe muscle tremors but eventually recovered.

他們的肌肉嚴重的顫抖，所幸最後恢復健康了。

But other molds, like Rhizopus Stolonifer, can have permanent effects, and you might recognize this mold since it commonly grows on bread.

但其他黴菌，像是「黑根霉」可能會有永久的影響，而你可能能認出這種黴菌，因為牠經常在麵包上長出。

Blue green with black splotches and super fuzzy.

藍綠色且有黑色的污點，超級毛茸茸。

In rare cases, it can prompt a deadly infection called Zygomycosis, which causes your blood to clot and can ultimately starve your cells of oxygen to the point that they die.

少數的情況下，它可能會引起叫做「接合菌綱」的致命感染，使你的血液凝結成塊，並最終讓你的細胞缺氧直到細胞死亡。

And it's not like bacteria, where a little heat will eliminate the threat, because high temperatures won't break down the Mycotoxins.

而這不像細菌，一點熱就能消除細菌的威脅，因為高溫並不能消除「黴菌毒素」。

And since you have no clue which one you're about to put in your mouth, ask yourself: is it really worth the risk?

而因為你完全不知道你放入口中的會是哪一種黴菌，問問你自己 : 真的值得冒這種風險嗎？