Re: Where do the molds that end up on the foods in my kitchen come from?

The mold that you see on a food product is called the MYCELIUM and is made up of HYPHAE (the fuzzy mass is the MYCELIUM and the "branches" are the HYPHAE). This mass is formed from SPORES which can be thought of as the "seeds" of the mold. These SPORES can be found almost anywhere (foods, household surfaces, the bottoms of our shoes, clothes, etc.) and are to small for our eyes to see (they are actually more like a very fine powder). Given time, the spores create the HYPHAE which grow to form the MYCELIUM and this becomes what we call MOLD. You will notice that food that is freshly made or prepared is not moldy, it just takes time. The plastic bags will probably not prevent mold growth because the SPORES will already be present on the bread, peppers, etc. In fact, with peppers, the plastic bag will enhance the moisture content and the mold may grow even faster! Still, we're not sure so you should try the experiment. Good luck.

Reference:: "Modern Food Microbiology"; 3rd Ed.; James M. Jay"