Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with foodsafety

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).

Question number 6068

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?

Question number 5784

_sirmissalot_ — Thu, 11 Mar 2004 10:11:40 -0800

Calling all microbiologists & bacteria enthusiasts: left out two cans of Phillips backfin crab meat last night, which are supposed to stay refrigerated. It is pasteurized meat, but when we called the 800 number to ask their opinion, they said if the cans get to room temperature for several hours, you probably shouldn't use it. But hey, this is expensive crab meat. I'm thinking that if it is well-cooked, tonight, I will live to tell the tale. Opinions?