# Mold inside canning lids



## masawyer

We canned some apple pie filling (The BEST!) and have found
two jars that we opened had black mold on the inside of the lid.
The jars were sealed properly. The others we opened have been fine.
There was no mold on the apples
and there was no bad odor. We didn't use them, but I was wondering
if they would have been OK.

Any ideas why this would have happened?


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## PNWest

Ahh, short answer....no. If mold was growing, the seal was compromised in some way and might have resealed it self when the jars completely cooled.

Canning process is supposed to remove viable oxygen and leave the contents in a non aerobic state. Mold needs oxygen to grow, so the seal was bad.


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## Chixarecute

I totally agree with PNWest - but...are you sure it was mold? I've had food I'm canning stick to the lid, and it can end up black and yukky looking. (Do I tend to overfill jars, perhaps?)


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## Danaus29

Sometimes the lids get something on them that turns black. I'm not sure if it's the reaction to food on the lid or just a bad spot in the coating. If it's not fuzzy it's probably not mold. I have had canned goods that have molded, those were because of a failed seal.


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## masawyer

No, it didn't really look fuzzy. Maybe it was just the spices and thickening
had stuck to the top and turned black? 

Marsha


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## suitcase_sally

I can almost guarantee that what you see is not mold. If the lid seal was intact, it's impossible for it to be mold. 

If you have a Ball canning book, look in the section called Problem Solver and you will find this:

*Condition: *
_Black spots on underside of lid._

*Cause:*
_Natural compounds in some foods cause brown or black deposits on the underside of lid. This deposit is harmless and does not mean the food is unsafe to eat._


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## suitcase_sally

PNWest said:


> Ahh, short answer....no. If mold was growing, _the seal was compromised in some way and might have _*resealed it self *when the jars completely cooled.


ummm....no.


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## opalcab

Molds Need Oxygen to GROW And Black Molds Are Not Good On any Foods


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## masawyer

Thanks for everyone's responses.

Marsha in OK


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## Macybaby

The few times I've had mold on the inside of the lids, the food was also obviously bad - smell and texture, more runny than it should have been. I try to pay more attention when I pop off a lid, but sometimes I'm talking or just busy and don't know if the lid actually came off easier than it should have. Most of the time I try to take off the lid with my fingers, then I know for sure if they came off too easy. I can usually pull them off with my fingers, but I usually give it an easy pull and then grab the opener so I don't hurt my fingers if I've got one that is really stuck on. 

I've had the black spots form occasionally, but they are flat and not mounded with the fuzziness.


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## stef

suitcase_sally said:


> I can almost guarantee that what you see is not mold. If the lid seal was intact, it's impossible for it to be mold.
> 
> If you have a Ball canning book, look in the section called Problem Solver and you will find this:
> 
> *Condition: *
> _Black spots on underside of lid._
> 
> *Cause:*
> _Natural compounds in some foods cause brown or black deposits on the underside of lid. This deposit is harmless and does not mean the food is unsafe to eat._


Several years ago this happened to some tomato sauce I canned. I did not notice the black spots on the underside of the lid until after I had consumed some of the sauce. Fortunately I was able to contact someone at the local extension office and they said pretty much the same things as SS has quoted here from the Ball Blue Book. There were one or two more sealed lids with the same thing and I ate it with no bad results. 

But, still, it's such a personal decision. If you're the least bit nervous about it, pitch it. It's only some apples and sugar. Not worth harming yourself over.


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## Marilyn

That happened very often to me and I believe it was some sort of chemical reaction between the food being processed and a possible scratch on the underside of the lid. The problem miraculously disappeared after I purchased a magnetic lid lifter. 

The tongs I was using to retrieve lids from hot water was just barely scratching the lid.


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