A. No, it isn't safe to cut off the moldy parts of bread and feed the rest to young children.
Another way to think about it: Would you let your child drink spoiled milk?
Of course not - you would be worried about food poisoning. But few, if any kids, would actually drink spoiled milk, since it tastes and smells so bad. Especially once it has curdled, just the sight of it often makes most people vomit.
Milk spoils because even with pasteurization, all of the bacteria in milk aren't killed. Eventually these leftover bacteria keep growing and can get to the point where they can cause milk to spoil, which is usually some time after the milk's expiration date.
Mold on other foods is similar to spoiled or curdled milk: It's often a sign that a food is past its expiration date and should be thrown away. Simply cutting away the mold is not enough for most foods. According to the USDA, molds are not only found on the surface of foods. So while you cut away the visible mold, "when a food shows heavy mold growth, 'root' threads have invaded it deeply."
Although it is good to not waste food, it is far better to plan ahead and buy less if you find your food is often getting moldy.
Moldy Cheese
Surprisingly, mold is actually used to make some foods. Many popular cheeses, including Brie, Roquefort, Blue, Gorgonzola, Camembert, and Stilton, are made using mold and are safe to eat. Food safety experts consider cheese safe to eat as long as it was made with pasteurized milk, which has nothing to do with whether or not it was made using mold.If the cheese actually gets moldy, which is from molds that are not part of the manufacturing process, then that is different. In the case of hard cheeses, you can often trim off the mold, and at least 1 inch around the mold spot, and still eat the cheese. Soft cheeses should be discarded, like most other foods.
Sources:
USDA. Safe Food Handling Fact Sheet. Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous?
