It is a mold that spoils various foods and is responsible for occupational asthma in the wood and cork industry.

[2] Chrysonilia sitophila is the anamorphic counterpart of Neurospora sitophila (teleomorph).

Its position in the classification is: At the time of its discovery, in 1843, this fungus was named "Penicillium sitophilum" by Montagne and "Oïdium aurantiacum" by Léveillé,[4] but it is now considered not to belong to either genus Oidium nor Penicillium.

In 1848, Anselme Payen reported that it resisted temperatures above 100 degrees[clarification needed], a fact which played a role in discussions of spontaneous generation.

[5] In 2010, Chrysonilia sitophila, the asexual state of neurospora sitophilia, was found to be linked to a case of occupational asthma in a worker exposed to ground coffee.