Question: what happens if you eat mouldy food?

Tom Hardy answered on 15 Jun 2010:

That depends on the type of mould. Some are good for us, some are bad for us. For example, Penicillium roqueforti is a fungus that occurs naturally in soil and decaying organic matter like compost piles but this is used in the manufacture of blue cheese. It gives cheeses like Danish Blue their distinct flavour and colouring. Obviously we eat this mould but we don’t get sick, this is because mould is digested by our bodies and killed by the strong acid in our stomachs.

Not all moulds are friendly though. Many food moulds are harmful to humans. You can breathe in the spores which can cause allergic reactions and eating the mould can cause diarrhoea. It is unlikely that if you are healthy food mould would cause any long term damage to health. Moulds tend to just taste nasty not do any real damage.