Useful And

Harmful Fungi
 Useful fungi
Baking and alcoholic products:
• Yeast, a common fungus, is widely used in the baking industry to
make bread, pizza base, cakes and other wheat based products.
• It is also used to produce alcoholic beverages by fermentation of
various plant parts.
Edible products:
• Different fungi are used to produce cheese of different varieties.They
impact flavour and texture to the cheese.
• Many mushrooms and morels are cooked and eaten for their rich
nutrient content
Medicinal and commercial products:
• Penicillium is an important fungus that is used in the
preparation of several antibiotics, such as penicillin and
ampicillin.
• Fungi, such as Aspergillus is niger, are used for the
commercial preparation of organic acids, such as critic acid
and Gluconic acid.
 Harmful fungi
Food spoilage:
• Moulds grow on moist food substances, such as bread, fruits,
vegetables and spoil food products.They release toxins within
the food, which, if ingested, can cause serious food poisoning.
Spoilage of non-food substances:
• Fungi cause spoilage and ultimately destruction of non-food
substances, such as textile, wool, paper, furniture, and even
shoes. They grow on damp cloth and leather and damage our
cloths and shoes.
Diseases and decay:
• Toadstool is a mushroom like fungi that is often mistakenly
eaten as food. Toadstool can be harmful to the health of an
animal, possibly resulting in death.
• Polyporus is a type of fungi that can cause the decay of
standing trees and even timber wood.
• Fungi, such as moulds, mildew, smut, and rust, cause
diseases in plants.
• Fungi can also cause human diseases, such as Athlete’s
foot, Oral thrush and ringworm.
Fungi On Food