Mold growth on organic versus non-organic wheat bread.

Abstract

In recent decades people have begun to buy more organically grown or raised food because it is healthier and better for the environment. The purpose of our study was to examine the growth of mold on organic bread versus non-organic bread . We set out 40 samples of bread that included different brands of organic and non-organic bread in the UVB field at the University of Michigan 's Biological Station. Using a qualitative scale we ranked the percent coverage of mold on each piece of bread. We hypothesized that mold would grow quicker on the organic bread than the non-organic bread , but found the opposite. Our results showed that mold grows quicker on non-organic bread. This could potentially be explained by the difference in ingredients in each brand , such as sugar content. If organic bread lasts longer than non-organic and is better for the environment, future research can potentially sway more people and large corporations to produce bread organically or only buy organically made bread.