is there a mycologist in the house?

Back in my Virginia condo, food seemed to have a fairly long shelf-life. Here in Daly City, though, things seem to spoil rather quickly. Raw fruit, especially, seems to grow mold much sooner out here. Is this common for the Bay Area? Why might it be so much worse here? There are differences in climate, certainly: but while it’s damp and cool here, it was humid and hot back east, so the amount of moisture in the air doesn’t seem to be a major factor, and I’d have expected the higher temperatures of DC to be more of a breeding ground for molds than the more typical 50- to 70-degree temps here.

Is it some quality of the food itself? Is there some reason that fruit bought in California would be more prone to mold than fruit bought in Virginia? Fewer preservatives?

Or is it more likely that our 50-year-old house here in Daly City just has more mold spores than my 25-year-old condo in Arlington? One big difference in that regard could be the ubiquitous use of air conditioning in Arlington, such that almost all the air there was filtered. But we’re using the same kinds of air filters on our furnace here that I used on the heat pump there.

Do I need to worry that this is more than just a matter of having to buy less fruit at one time, in order to eat it before it goes bad? Are the spores that cause mold to grow on peaches, apples and grapes a particular health hazard to us? Respiratorily, we’ve both had a number of sore throats and rhinitis in the short time since moving here, but then I’ve always suffered from allergies so it doesn’t seem particularly worse here in that regard (in fact, my allergies seem perhaps marginally better here).

I’m more curious than seriously worried, and I haven’t seen any evidence of mold or mildew in the house more generally. But it is a little frustrating to have to throw out about half the fruit we buy.