Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with foodsafety

How long can I safely keep steamed chicken wings in the refrigerator before baking them?

0xFCAF — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:35:42 -0800

How long can I safely keep steamed chicken wings in the refrigerator before baking them? I'm following this amazing recipe which has you steam them for 10 minutes, dry in the refrigerator for an hour, then bake at 425° for 40 minutes.

Can I turn the hour in the refrigerator in to 4 hours? 12? 24? Can I put them in the freezer for an extended period of time (and if so, how would I properly thaw them) ?

Note that I'm asking about how the wings keep after being steamed, not before.

please help resolve my tofu troubles

mustcatchmooseandsquirrel — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:43:59 -0800

Can I eat this expired (but frozen) tofu/tempeh/tofurky? I just moved into a new apartment and my new roommate's old roommate left behind some food in the freezer. At first I was delighted to be inheriting free food, but now that I've checked the best by dates, I'm not so sure. Details:

Tofurky: "enjoy by" 08/23/08
Yves Meatless Deli Ham: "best before" 02/13/08
White Wave Baked Tofu: 09/02/05 (date has no qualifier before it)
Sunergia Soyfoods pesto tofu: 04/22/06 (also no qualifier)
SoyBoy Tempeh: April 26 (says that it can be "sold frozen for 6 months after date" but, the date doesn't have a year after it and considering the other fake meats, I wouldn't bet on it being 2009)

I do not know for how long any of this was frozen, nor can I contact new roommate's old roommate to ask.

So...can I eat any of this? If it were anything else, I'd probably just throw it away, but I do love fancy tofu products (and very rarely buy them myself due to their fancy prices) so this would be a free food grand slam.

Yes, another annoying "Is this safe to eat" question.

anastasiav — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:56:12 -0800

CanIEatThisFilter: Just discovered a couple of pounds of steak that has been sitting in our fridge, in marinade, for about ten days (it was purchased a week ago Saturday). Looks like it never made it on the grill. If I cook it well is it safe to eat?

Deadly Dressing?!?!

JoanArkham — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:26:45 -0800

Can I Eat It Filter: homemade salad dressing edition In an effort to not eat so much HFCS, I bought a salad dressing mixer similar to this. The first time I used it, I put it in the fridge after mixing and, of course, the oil solidified. The next time, I just left it on the counter, but Mr. Arkham was concerned. The dressing only contained olive oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, spices, and garlic. Think it's safe to keep out of the fridge? For how long? Will the garlic go bad? (I'm assuming any creamy dressings would need to be refrigerated, of course.)

And if commercial dressings are full of preservatives, why are they all "refrigerate after opening"?

Is it safe to cook meat very briefly then re-refrigerate it for 24 hours?

hypocritical ross — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:42:47 -0800

FoodSafetyFilter: Making duck confit. Threw a few legs into the 200 degree melted fat then realized I didn't have enough fat to cover them all completely. Panicked for 3 or 4 minutes, realized it's too late to go out and buy more fat, then decided my only option (aside from chucking $40 worth of meat) was to pull the legs out, blot them with paper towels, and throw them back in the fridge until tomorrow when I can get more fat. Question: Am I going to kill myself and all of my dinner guests with some horrible foodborne bacteria? My gut (forgive the expression) tells me it will be fine since the legs will be cooked for 3 hours tomorrow, doubly so because the legs were cured in salt for the last 24 hours, and triply so because this preparation was meant to be stored for up to several months. Yet the overly-cautious American food consumer in me says "If you eat this food you will almost certainly die."

Again, they were in the oil (again, around 200 degrees) for about 5 minutes tops. The first one I had thrown in had just started to turn color, and the last looked pretty much raw. I know it's certainly not best practice and almost definitely wouldn't fly in a restaurant, but assuming I grab another 2 pounds of fat tomorrow and get these things cooked 24 hours from now, will that be alright?

Egg myths

maggieb — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:48:03 -0800

Eggs. I love eggs. Every time I use eggs I wonder about food safety but not obcessively so... I think and then I do anyway. There are two things I always do with eggs and I am wondering if they are "magical thinking" routines. 1. I wash the egg in shell before cracking it.

2. I smell the cracked egg before introducing it into a recipe or even the fry pan. It should have no discernible smell.

I grew up with a father who had a day job but farmed as a hobby. We had chickens. I love chickens as critters and I love chickens as food sources. I tend to think of chicken eggs as one of the world's most perfect foods. We kept eggs on the kitchen counter, not in the refrigerator, as I was growing up.

Previously [1] [2].

Should I stop washing and sniffing?

Should I Eat The Cheese? (Slight variation on past questions)

Kirn — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:08:11 -0800

I have some Spanish 'Queso Tetilla' cheese (a soft cheese completely surrounded by a hard rind). It's about a month old and got taken in a suitcase from Barcelona to the UK for about 16 hours - apart from that, it's been in the fridge the whole time. There are a couple of spots of blue mould on the rind, and a soft patch where a sticker was (through cellophane), but having cut into it the inside seems OK. Should I Eat It? Note: I realise variations on this question have been asked before, but the advice seemed to be 'eat hard cheese, chuck soft cheese'. Since the mould is on the hard rind (and as far as I can tell, not the soft innards) I thought the question was justified - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Plus, it's lovely, help me eat it.

Is my Muffaletta mix safe to eat?

melorama — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:48:45 -0800

Can-I-Eat-This-filter: Is this jar of Muffaletta olive salad mix safe to eat? So in my haste to get some souvenirs and gifts from my trip to New Orleans last month, I purchased a few jars of Central Grocery's famous Mufaletta olive salad mix on my way to the airport.

What I didn't notice until I had landed a few hours later in Las Vegas for the second leg of my vacation, was that the label on the olive salad recommended that the jars be kept refrigerated even before opening them.

Being that I didn't have a refrigerator in my hotel room for my 7 day stay in Vegas (though I kept the A/C in my room at a nice chilly 61 degrees most of the time), I've been afraid to eat the olive salad, out of fear of botulism of some other nasties that may have formed between April 9, (when I purchased that jars), and April 17 (when I arrived home and stuck them into my fridge...where they've been ever since).

I know that there is a risk of botulism from consuming homemade garlic & oil infusions, and since the olive salad is likely loaded with garlic, I'm wondering just how risky it is to eat this stuff, a month later.

This stuff looks so goddamned yummy, it would be a shame if I have to throw it out!

Is it safe to cook with over-ripe strawberries?

joannemerriam — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 14:49:28 -0800

Is it safe to cook with over-ripe strawberries? I bought some strawberries the other night and we haven't eaten all of them yet. They're quite ripe, and a few are soft and have those super mushy areas strawberries get. None of them are moldy or anything.

I was thinking I'd use them up by making banana bread with the strawberries instead of bananas. My husband worries I may give us all food poisoning or that it may not be safe to eat them now. Is he right and I should just throw them away?

Is it good?

Snyder — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 14:55:58 -0800

How long can chicken be frozen and remain good (as in not dangerous) to eat? Thanks

Glorious homemade applesauce ... a big, delicious, warm bowl of it is on my counter. Do I let it cool before refrigerating ?

R. Mutt — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:32:18 -0800

Glorious homemade applesauce ... a BIG, delicious, very warm bowl of it is on my counter. Do I let it cool before refrigerating ?

Don't eat it, Ted?

TedW — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 18:33:03 -0800

What's the deal with my salad dressing? It is frothing like a rabid dog! At dinner tonight I opened a brand new bottle of salad dressing (Girard's Greek Feta Vinaigrette, expiration date 2/16/08) and noticed a slight hiss, as if there were a partial vacuum in the jar, perhaps from being chilled. We proceed to eat, and when I go to get seconds on the salad I notice that the salad dressing is bubbling away, like an opened soda or beer only in slow motion. This continued for several minutes, until I replaced the cap and put it in the fridge saying "I think we should hold off on this until we know whats going on." It is as if something had fermented; I assume the gas was CO2 but don't know. One concern was botulism, but the vinegar in the dressing makes that pretty unlikely. I plan to call the company, but they do not have a 24 hour customer service number. We didn't notice any obvious off tastes, but I have not had this particular dressing before so might not notice an unusual taste. It has been a couple of hours and we both feel fine, so it seems safe, but it was still pretty strange. Any ideas what it could be? If I can find out anything from another source I will post an update. Thanks in advance.

Another "Can I Eat This" Query

bibliowench — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:46:40 -0800

Can I marinate beef past the sell-by date? I've bought a piece of chuck pot roast and just made the marinade for Mark Bittman's Vinegar-Marinated Pot Roast recipe. Bittman's recipe suggest marinating the meat for up to 3 days; the date on the package comes due is in two. Will the marinade, made up primarily of wine and vinegar, allow the meat to last past the date (and I have no idea if it's a sell-by or serve-by date - I'm recently eating beef again after about a 13 year hiatus), or should I plan on cooking this tomorrow? Ideally, I'd like to cook this on Thursday, but I don't want to kill my family.

Is it safe?

docpops — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 08:46:56 -0800

I have an 8.45 ounce bottle of Sam Adams Triple Bock, ca. 1994, an ale brewed w/ maple syrup, that I was given as a gift. I just found it again in a cabinet. It's been sealed well, kept in dark spaces in air conditioned spaces mostly. Safe to drink? Keep aging? Bury in a landfill?

Are there any hazards associated with eating un(der)cooked specialty meats, such as rabbit?

Caviar — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:38:11 -0800

Are there any hazards associated with eating un(der)cooked specialty meats, such as rabbit? I find that I'm cooking specialty meats more often - rabbit, goose, duck, etc...

Raw chicken has a salmonella risk, raw beef has e. coli risk, etc...

What are the risks, if any, of eating raw or undercooked "other" meats? How careful do I need to be with cleaning up after, say, fabricating a fresh bloody rabbit carcass?

Is there a good reference for looking these up?

Why must I cook Patak's Curry Paste?

Yogurt — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 13:00:04 -0800

Why must I cook Patak's Curry Paste? Patak's Curry Paste comes with this warning on the jar in capital letters: "It is important that this product is prepared as directed in the usage instructions and must not be consumed uncooked." The instructions call for about 20 minutes of simmering.

None of the ingredients leap out at me as clearly needing cooking: vegetable oil, salt, coriander, turmeric, water, concentrated tomato puree, chilli, ground ginger, garlic powder, corn flour, tamarind, spices, acetic acid, sugar, citric acid, lactic acid.

When I'm lazy, I like to throw some curry paste on leftover rice and just microwave it, rather than cooking it properly. Am I taking my life in my hands?

(I know there are better ways to eat Indian-style food, so no need to detour down the cuisine side of this topic, thanks!)

I would rather not poison people.

davidriley — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 14:33:13 -0800

How do I keep my kitchen clean and sanitary? How can I effectively wash dishes by hand? What can I do to keep wooden tools clean? How should I go about sterilizing my tools and kitchen surfaces before, during and after food preparation? What bacteria might pose health concerns, how are they spread, and how can I prevent contamination?

I have recently become interested in cooking. However, with my current knowledge in the area of safe food preparation, I would likely poison myself or another. I imagine that quite a deal has been written on this subject, but I have yet to find anything substantial or credible. The nature of this question overwhelms me and I would greatly appreciate receiving some sort of guidance or direction.

can i eat my dough?

purplefiber — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 21:12:10 -0800

what will happen to me if i make pizza from old dough? if i buy pizza dough and then leave it in the fridge for 5 or so days before turning it into pizza, is it still safe to eat? what about if i freeze it, then move it to the fridge for a few days?

Could what I don't know, kill me?

Framer — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 16:25:56 -0800

Frozen food fiasco filter. My freezer was off for 48 hours. It was not opened during this time. Which items are still safe? Items in question, all store-packaged still: bacon, ground turkey, ground lamb, boneless chicken breasts. Also some home-made lasagne (meat and cheese), frozen after it was cooked. Everything's still cold, but nothing is icy anymore.

I've found information online about some of this, but want to know if anyone here has had personal experience and survived (or made themselves ill). Can I salvage any of my food? How about my pride?

Tuna Safety

clockzero — Mon, 16 Jan 2006 14:33:52 -0800

How safe is albacore tuna? I love tuna fish. I would eat it every day if I thought I could do so without slowly poisoning myself. I've tried to get some kind of reasonable answer to the question of what quantity albacore tuna is safe in, but I haven't found it. My tuna of choice is Trader Joe's olive-oil packed albacore.

Could I make an eternal pot of soup?

tomble — Mon, 09 Jan 2006 01:20:38 -0800

Theoretical-food-safety-question-filter. Let's say I keep a big pot of soup in the fridge. Every few days I take it out, heat it to boiling, allow it to cool and replace it in the fridge.

Is there any real reason why this would ever be rendered unsafe to eat? Not that I plan on trying this, but a large pot of soup in the fridge made me think of this hypothetical scenario.

Thaw, you little bastard! THAW!

maudlin — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 08:16:35 -0800

We screwed up the timing for preparing our turkey. How can we thaw and brine by tomorrow without risking bacterial contamination? I took the 4.8 kg (10 pound) turkey out of the freezer Friday morning and put it in the fridge to thaw. According to all the charts I've seen, 8-12 pound turkeys take 1-2 days to fully thaw that way.

But my husband would like to brine, which means the turkey has to be thawed by tonight so we can brine it overnight and roast tomorrow. That 1-2 days for fridge thawing now seems to be cutting things a little fine, especially as it's been more than 24 hours and the thing still feels damn solid on the outside.

Cold water thawing outside the fridge is a little riskier, even if you change the water every thirty minutes. Anyway, we've been told that turkey should be cooked immediately after cold water thawing. Brining for 12 hours, even in the fridge, seems verboten.

For now, my husband has stuck the turkey in the fridge (somewhere between 30 and 40 degrees F) in a stockpot full of cold water. Should we reasonably expect this to be faster than air-thawing in the fridge?

Where can I learn more about the dangers of harmful bacteria in poultry?

rorycberger — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 16:13:14 -0800

Where can I learn more about the dangers of harmful bacteria in all kinds of poultry? In preparation for this, I've been trying to learn all that I can about the food safety risks involved in cooking a wide variety of poultry. Unfortunately, everything I've found thus far has been very chicken-centric and really only told me a few things:
1. Don't cross contaminate
2. Cook to an internal temperature of X degrees (varies by source)
3. Avoid the "danger zone" of Y - Z degrees (also varies by source)

The main thing I'm looking for is much more detailed info about Salmonella: e.g. At what temperatures (precise range) does it thrive? What exactly does it mean for it to "thrive"? How long (really) can it stay in "the danger zone" and still be safe? Why does "the danger zone" even matter if I cook it to a safe temperature? If my meat is contaminated, how likely are people to get sick? What symptoms will they experience? Anything (other than thorough cooking) that kills it or slows it down?

Beyond that I am curious about a number of other factors, such as:
-Bird choice: Which birds are most likely to be contaminated? Which are least likely? Are there certain birds that are especially dangerous? Is an organic bird safer? A wild bird? Are different birds safe at different temperatures?
-Beyond Salmonella: What else should I be worried about (esp. in the game birds), and what are the properties of these other bacteria?
-Other precautions: Anything else I can do to minimize the risks? Does brining help/hurt? Rinsing? Drying? Wrapping tightly in plastic wrap? Leaving unwrapped in the fridge? Bringing to room temp before cooking? Sticking it in the freezer for a little while before cooking?

While I would certainly appreciate answers to my specific questions here, I'm mostly looking for suggestions of primary sources (books, reputable websites, etc.) to do further research. Thanks in advance for any help!

When to toss canned food out?

Mutant — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 03:50:27 -0800

I've got some food that's past it's "Best Before" dates. Can I safely eat it? I'm a pretty frugal person (except for holidays and such), and purchase most of my "eat in" food in bulk and almost always when it's on sale.

I keep maybe three months worth of dry goods on hand, typically because I've taken advantage of a sale. I rotate stuff pretty well but somehow messed up and now I've got some pasta, canned tomato sauce and fish, all with "Best Before" dates in the May to November 2004 range.

Can I safely eat this stuff? I think the pasta is a no brainer, I'm a little shakey on the tomato sauce, and downright fearful of the fish. It's no big deal if I have to discard, but I'm curious as a couple of times GalPal and I went into a feeding frenzy as the expiration dates approached. We're talking about fourty cans of tomato sauce and the same number of fish.

FWIW, the tomato sauce has those little safety buttons and they are flat (for now).

Can Butter Go Rancid?

Brad — Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:33:34 -0800

Once again microbiologists & bacteria enthusiasts your wisdom is needed. My roommate is mad because I left the butter out overnight, he won't touch it and said I have to buy a new stick. But my grandma always kept her butter in a covered dish on the counter, not in the refrigerator. My question then, what are the facts here: does butter require constant refrigeration? How long till butter goes bad {packaged, refrigerated, covered dish} and in what ways, and at what risk?