How to know if blackberries are safe to eat?

How to know if blackberries are safe to eat? - Photo of Bread With Fruits

I'm having a problem where the blackberries I buy from the store on Sunday seem to be spoiled on Monday. On Sunday, I specifically look around the outside of the box and check if any blackberries have white fluff on them. If I don't see it then, then when I actually open the berries on Monday I will see the fluff. This is irritating because I don't know whether I am supposed to throw these out, and I buy large quantities of these berries to last me the week.

So my 2 questions are:

  1. How do I know whether a blackberry is safe to eat? If some blackberries have that white mold on it, but the others don't, can I throw that berry out and use adjacent berries?

  2. How am I supposed to store blackberries to prevent it from molding after 1 day? I highly doubt my grocery store will be selling moldy berries deliberately so maybe I am storing it incorrectly.



Best Answer

As soon as you get them home, inspect for damaged berries & discard any that are not perfect. Wash the rest in a colander or sieve under cold running water. Drain well.

Spread on dry paper towel for 30 mins to fully drain & dry, then put them in a new box with paper towel under & over - don't seal them with a snap lid.

Place in the fridge, in the salad crisper if you have one.

Life-span should now be more like a week.

The rapid spread of mould is from possibly just one single damaged berry. If they are touching & sweating, that can spread like wildfire. If they are clean, dry & cold, in air that can circulate around them, then you should be fine.
You could possibly be OK eating ones from the opposite side of the original punnet, but I wouldn't really. Safe rather than sorry, so do the preventative work first.

If it happens again even after you took proper care, pick a new store, or complain at the first one - though bear in mind that even with care, they are still fragile & won't last forever. Your sign of end-of-life when clean & dry should be shrinkage, they will eventually start to dry out & look wrinkled, rather than mould.

From comments under the OP [1] - it's possible that the mould spores are in the fridge not in the berries. The berries, if damaged in any way, simply provide a suitable breeding ground.
I'd recommend a fridge-sanitisation day. My method will prevent fast cross-contamination, but won't kill existing spores.

[1] "It's very strange since this problem started only in the last 2 months. I don't know if the grocery store is continuously selling moldy berries or not"




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When should you not eat blackberries?

It's time to eat as many blackberries as you can find and stuff in a pie. After September 29, those celebrating the feast of Michaelmas warn you not to eat them.

How tell if blackberries are bad?

When it comes to blackberries that you should definitely discard, here are the signs to look for:
  • Mold. Any signs of it means the fruit is done for.
  • Slime, oozing juice, or crushed. If it doesn't seem like the bulbs have any liquid in them, or the fruit got crushed along the way, throw it out.
  • Off smell.


  • Can you get sick from eating unripe blackberries?

    Unfortunately, this small berry has a dangerous side. If eaten unripe\u2014 when the husk is a bright red color\u2014the berry can be poisonous. This is because the berry contains high amounts of solanine when unripe, a poison that causes gastrointestinal issues when consumed.

    Are fresh blackberries safe to eat?

    Blackberries are safe to consume, and unlikely to cause side effects in people who are not allergic to them. Choosing whole blackberries with no added sugar is recommended, whether frozen or fresh. Some canned blackberries may contain added sugar or preservatives that can lead to negative health effects.



    Can you eat wild blackberries ?




    More answers regarding how to know if blackberries are safe to eat?

    Answer 2

    How am I supposed to store blackberries to prevent it from molding after 1 day?

    Buy frozen.

    1. They're fresher (picked ripe and flash frozen, versus picked unripe so they last to the grocery store).
    2. You can defrost only the ones you need.

    Answer 3

    I wouldn't even try to squeeze a week out of blackberries. Basically they should be eaten the instant you get a hold of them, they're too fragile and not meant for storage. Tetsujin's answer would prolong their life by a few days, but not indefinitely. And any blackberries that lasted much longer would be so impregnated with preservatives that you should probably steer clear of them.

    That said it's not at all unusual for a basket of soft berries, whether from the store or a market, to contain one or more that didn't even make it to you. I throw out any that are really moldy, eat the rest without ever having any sort of problem.

    Don't use Lysol in your fridge, that's worse than any spores. Just clean it out well using baking soda as a scouring powder, making sure to clean any crannies, that for instance you pull out the drawers to clean under them. Or if you really have a raging mold problem, rinse it down with a borax solution, if you can get your hands on some (7-mule team brand in the US is usually sold with laundry).

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Trang Doan, Pixabay, Oleksandr Pidvalnyi, Wendy van Zyl