There are numerous strains of Aspergillus and some are used in fermentation of Sake, while others are deadly.

I have written about this issue in the past and I will quickly re-visit it again. I first discovered it in Paris twenty years ago and it destroyed all my cigars and contaminated a unique cigar 1000 cigar case made by Elie Bleu: http://www.eliebleu.fr

I sent the box back to the manufacturer and sent it back. They couldn’t get the smell out and they had no idea what it was. The result of aspergillus contamination, the cedar wood and every single cigar inside had an “off” smell, a kind of musty odor that always stayed in my mind. I encountered it from time to time but could not detect identify it.

Three years ago, I smelled the exact same odor on a gym towel and so I bagged it. I sent it to a laboratory and asked to test it. The result was aspergillus. I tell you this because many pineapples and other fruits that are stored (and many are) in dark rooms, or shipped in contained containers that are contaminated.

It is a serious problem and exists everywhere and to be avoided at all times. If a fruit has any odor, throw it away!

‘Aspergillus is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. Aspergillus was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Michel’.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergillus
http://www.aspergillus.org.uk