My sun dried tomatoes might be contaminated

[Persimmon]

I have been carefully drying my roma tomatoes in the sun each day for about 5 days. The temp on our porch is probably in the 90's at this time. When not on the porch, I've placed them in my convection/toaster oven at the lowest temp (seems to be room temp with a small fan blowing).

Today I stuck four of them in a marinara sauce and THEN noticed that some of the others had a white mold on them.

Can I still use the sauce? I don't have any more sun dried tomatoes. If not, does anyone have a marina recipe that doesn't require sun dried toms and how can I ensure this doesn't happen in the future?

Thanks!

[ImSoRaw]

I wouldnt eat ANYTHING that has been around something that has gone moldy.. its just not worth any illness.

[DebB]

I wouldn't trust eating something that takes 5 days to dry with day time temps in the 90s and night time temps ??

There are some things I dehydrate in the Excalibur that I'll still store in the fridge or freezer, it's just hard for me to tell and better safe than sorry.

I'm a big thrift and yard sale shopper. I've seen the round style dehydrators for pretty cheap - $10 and even less. Would that be an option for you?

I think it's taking too long at too low of temps and that's why they're molding. Just my opinion though - I've never sun/air dried anything except herbs & sunflowers, so I do not have personal experience with it beyond that. *Ü*