Just fed the kids a mouldy pie...whats likely to happen?

[neverbeenskiing]

Got a steak pie out of the freezer for the kids tea, it was defrosted in the fridge and then heated up according to instructions. I didn't have any as I'm supposed to be going out for dinner later with a friend so I was pottering about doing jobs and DD says she thinks there's something wrong with the pie. I had a bite and it tasted of mold!
On inspection I couldn't see anything but it tasted vile. Obviously I told them to stop eating and chucked it. They can't have had more than a few bites.

Anyone know what is likely to happen? I don't want to go out and leave them with a babysitter if they're going to be ill.

Probably nothing will happen, but if it does it will be in about 6 hours so I'll you be back from your evening out by then?

Probably nothng, how would a frozen pie go mouldy?

I don't know, I can only assume it was bad before it went in the freezer? It definitely tasted of mold though. DD said the same.

DD also has a Dance show tomorrow that she's been excited about for ages...of all the times to poison her! 🤦‍♀️ I feel so guilty.

If it tasted of mould it must have been the pastry, not the meat. If the meat was off it would stink to high heaven and you'd never eat it. I don't think a few bites of mouldy pastry will do any harm.

I didn't try any of the pastry, just the meat and it definitely tasted of mold. I did check the pastry too and couldn't see anything. DD said the pastry tasted ok but who knows.

Did you defrost it in the cardboard packaging? Did the packaging feel wet, because that could be why it tasted funny rather than mould.

I wonder if it was something in with the meat that had gone mouldy; the gravy or vegetable content? I really don't think your DC could have eaten off meat, unless they have absolutely no sense of smell. Off meat smells like a combination of all the other worst smells you could imagine.

Also I've never known meat to taste mouldy when it's gone off. To me a mouldy taste would be bread.

They call childline?

What does mould taste like though? I'd imagine it won't do much if they haven't eaten much of it. At most maybe a funny tummy. You don't really get mould taste from meat, you'd taste rot and if it was that bad it was probably rotten meat.

Are you sure it wasn't steak & stilton? Could taste a little mouldy to anyone not used to blue cheese.

Funnily DD threatened to once, after they were told about Childline at school. I think it was in response to being told to tidy her room.

Hard to describe but sort of an earthy taste, like eating dirt. It was horrible.

It didn't smell bad though, not that any of us noticed.

Definitely not, no.

Yes but it didn't feel wet, and DD said the pastry tasted ok it was just the meat that tasted funny.

Yes, I know exactly the taste you mean from having bitten into mouldy bread occasionally.

Did it have mushrooms in it?
They have a deep earthy smell.

If it was mould it would just be spoilage bacteria so shouldn't make them ill. It's the food bacteria that causes illness and you wouldn't have been able to taste/smell/see that so the fact you could taste it suggests its the former. They'll be fine.

*food poisoning bacteria that causes illness

No mushrooms.

Was it maybe just freezer burned? If it was put straight in the freezer when you bought it then I don't think it could be actually mouldy. And if it's been in the freezer, that's loads of time for the manufacturer to put out a recall before you got round to defrosting it!

FWIW I was totally convinced I poisoned my kids with pork sausages last week (there were two packs - one was in date, but the other was 4 days over, and I didn't realise the two dates were different) and I actually called 111 to ask if I needed to bring them in for monitoring or something (OK, I panicked!) and they obviously said no, and as it turned out, everyone was completely fine.

Maybe, I thought freezer burn just made food taste a bit bland though. This definitely tasted like there was something wrong with it.

Glad you were all ok after the sausage episode!

Freezer burn can definitely make food taste kind of dusty/musty. Fingers crossed that just a few mouthfuls of most things wouldn't make anyone significantly unwell anyway. In my experience, you'd know about it within 3-4 hours normally 😬

Dusty/musty is a good description of how it tasted actually! Fingers crossed.