There are purple spots inside the freezer that look like mold, but I'm not sure. Is it safe to store food in there?
Best Answer
Thanks for the picture. (Worth 1000 words.) Those spots aren't what I was imagining when you said purple. They look just like what I was imagining when you said mold, though. Or maybe I would call it "mildew".
Anyhow, my advice: do clean it, with wet baking soda & rinse with water, like people say you should clean a refrigerator. If the stains remain, which I bet some will, try and remove them with a bleach solution, then rinse that off. If stains still remain, which I bet some will, then they're just stains at that point. Don't pay any attention to them....Don't put food in direct contact with the floor or walls of the freezer (of course). Wrap food well or enclose in proper containers when you freeze it, and it will be OK. The situation sounds temporary anyhow.
FYI: Because it had been unplugged and left outside for a few months before we got it, our refrigerator retained a slight musty smell inside even after we cleaned it as best we could. Our food however was fine. We just stored it wrapped as we normally would, and we had no issues with off-odors or spoilage in the food. The smell in the fridge's atmosphere persisted for many weeks though, until one day, we realized it was gone. No, we didn't just get used to it; the smell had completely dissipated. But it took a while.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come to any hard conclusions. It does make it clear that it's not simply pH though, as a carrot will remain green even in a 0.1 M solution of sodium hydroxide.
It does provide an anecdote about a baker that had a similar issue, and how they solved it:
[they overcame] it with a change in formula of baking powder and a good clean out of equipment.
Perhaps this could apply in your case? It might be a reaction from your cookware in combination with other factors? What if you remove the pineapple? Does it still happen? Perhaps trying a different brand of baking powder may work.
One thing is for sure, it's definitely not mold, and I'm very confident that it's harmless.
I have seen those before when I have cooked squash; they seem more common when I microwave it. I suspect they are just starchy deposits. I have always just wiped them off and eaten it anyway.
Best Answer
Thanks for the picture. (Worth 1000 words.) Those spots aren't what I was imagining when you said purple. They look just like what I was imagining when you said mold, though. Or maybe I would call it "mildew".
Anyhow, my advice: do clean it, with wet baking soda & rinse with water, like people say you should clean a refrigerator. If the stains remain, which I bet some will, try and remove them with a bleach solution, then rinse that off. If stains still remain, which I bet some will, then they're just stains at that point. Don't pay any attention to them....Don't put food in direct contact with the floor or walls of the freezer (of course). Wrap food well or enclose in proper containers when you freeze it, and it will be OK. The situation sounds temporary anyhow.
FYI: Because it had been unplugged and left outside for a few months before we got it, our refrigerator retained a slight musty smell inside even after we cleaned it as best we could. Our food however was fine. We just stored it wrapped as we normally would, and we had no issues with off-odors or spoilage in the food. The smell in the fridge's atmosphere persisted for many weeks though, until one day, we realized it was gone. No, we didn't just get used to it; the smell had completely dissipated. But it took a while.