| Subject | Date Asked |
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| home based food business | 6/7/2007 |
Q: I wanted to start a small business making ice cream sold in individual serving sizes. I would like ...
A: Yes -- it is possible to get a kitchen in your home -- separate from your family kitchen -- ...
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| freezing soup ingredients | 6/6/2007 |
Q: I bring home soup bones for stock and freeze them. Then sometime later defrost make stock and then ...
A: Yes -- you've described a safe practice for making soup. As long as you are defrosting the soup ...
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| cooking meat | 6/6/2007 |
Q: when cooking meat, what temperature should you cook in? if you don't cook your meat under the right ...
A: It is recommended to cook meat in a minimum of a 325 degree F oven. Slow cookers on low provide 325 ...
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| cooling cooked food | 6/5/2007 |
Q: My husband says that after cooking a meal I need to wait until it has cooled to room temperature to ...
A: Actually, both of you are right for some parts. While you are eating a meal, allow the food to cool ...
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| yogurt and italian sausage left out for 45minutes | 6/4/2007 |
Q: I went to the grocery store and was bringing the bags in when I got a phone call. 40 minutes later I ...
A: Yes -- the foods should be fine. Our general guideline is that cold food should not be out of ...
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| Eggs | 6/3/2007 |
Q: I just read one of your replies on eggs which stated that they had to be kept refrigerated, if this ...
A: Since 2001, an FDA requirement requires that eggs be placed promptly under refrigeration at 45 ...
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| raw meat | 6/2/2007 |
Q: I work at a meat market, another worker asked a question, what is the difference in slow cooking ...
A: If the hot car were able to produce a consistent heat between 250 and 300 degrees for 8-10 hours ...
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| Thawing Vacuum Packed Fish | 6/1/2007 |
Q: I thawed vacuum packed (marinated) salmon from Trader Joes in my refridgerator two days ago. The ...
A: Yes -- it should be safe to prepare and eat this evening for your family. Defrosted fish or freshly ...
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| deli meat expiration dates | 6/1/2007 |
Q: How accurate are packaged deli meat expiration dates? I've eaten past due meat before only b/c it ...
A: You don't....that's the problem. Food borne illness bacteria like listeria, salmonella, e.coli, ...
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| deli meat expiration dates | 5/31/2007 |
Q: How accurate are packaged deli meat expiration dates? I've eaten past due meat before only b/c it ...
A: The date on deli meats is a quality date -- not a safety date. It is supplied to help the grocery ...
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| Olives in oil | 5/29/2007 |
Q: I received some olives and antipasto packaged in plastic.The sell date is 05-07-o7.how long would ...
A: I assume when you say "packaged in plastic" that you mean it is a fresh product that was sealed at ...
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| defrosted ground beef in refridgerator | 5/29/2007 |
Q: I took out some frozen ground beef on 3 days ago to thaw in the refridgerator, is it still ok to ...
A: Yes -- it should be still safe. Here's why... Frozen ground beef takes 24 or more hours to defrost ...
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| Quiche storage | 5/29/2007 |
Q: I made a quiche last night, and forgot to put it in the fridge til this morning. So it had been out ...
A: Sorry....I can not recommend eating the quiche and here's why: Quiche contains what we call ...
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| Hot dogs, brats, and cheddar wursts left out overnight | 5/29/2007 |
Q: We barbecued last night and put the leftovers in the refrigerator for about 4 hours. Before going ...
A: Since you've given potentially hazardous foods (hot dogs, brats and cheddar wurst) the perfect ...
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| refreezing | 5/24/2007 |
Q: I took frozen strawberries and rhubarb out of freezer. I made a pie with frozen pie dough. Can I put ...
A: Sure -- you can freeze a baked pie. It's important to cool the pie quickly after baking and then ...
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| Food left out overnight | 5/23/2007 |
Q: I left spaghetti sauce with ground sirloin and sausage in a covered plastic container overnight at ...
A: The answer is --- who knows? All I can tell you is that leaving a potentially hazardous food (meat ...
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| refridgeration of seafood | 5/21/2007 |
Q: what is the maximum amount of time that fish(salmon) can remain refridgerated before it becomes ...
A: It depends upon how it is packaged. If it is vacuum packaged it can be refrigerated safely up to 10 ...
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| food safety | 5/21/2007 |
Q: I left a pasta bake out of the fridge overnight (cool temperatures), I don't want to waste the food, ...
A: Unfortunately, some bacteria produce a toxin that is not deactivated by cooking. That's why we ...
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| Bag of groceries left in car! | 5/20/2007 |
Q: I left a bag of groceries in my car overnight for approx. 18 hours. In the bag was two sealed ...
A: Unfortunately, I can not recommend cooking and consuming the meat products as they have been in what ...
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| Product storage | 5/19/2007 |
Q: We have a product that we have developed with a cheese factory in WI. It's Cheddar Cheese with ...
A: My feeling is that you will need to have this product shipped to an inspected refrigeration ...
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| Beef in pressure cooker | 5/19/2007 |
Q: Last night I cooked some beef in a pressure cooker. It was too hot to put in the refrigerator and ...
A: How hot was the beef when you opened it up this morning? If it was above 140 degrees then it will ...
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| 6 day old cooked steak | 5/18/2007 |
Q: I just had some leftover steak that was in my fridge. Everything tasted fine and then I realized ...
A: The recommendations for using cooked refrigerated meat within 3-4 days is based upon research ...
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| consumed cooked meat left overnight | 5/18/2007 |
Q: I have read quite a bit here about eating cooked meat that was left out overnight. In my case, I ...
A: Just because a meat sits out at room temperature overnight does not always mean a person will become ...
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| steak | 5/17/2007 |
Q: I bought a steak 4 days ago, & was wondering how long it will be safe to eat it. It is starting to ...
A: The general recommendation for meat is to use or freeze it by the "sell-by" date printed on the ...
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| yogurt | 5/17/2007 |
Q: If refrigerated and in unopened single serving packages, what is the safety guidelines for eating ...
A: As you suspected, yogurt is safe to consume past the "best if used by" or "sell-by" date. These ...
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| Chicken left in microwave | 5/16/2007 |
Q: I forgot to remove the Roast Chicken from the oven after cooking and discovered it the next morning. ...
A: Yes -- you should not consume the chicken. Chicken is considered a potentially hazardous food -- in ...
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| Commercial Beef Jerky | 5/16/2007 |
Q: I bought commercial organic beef jerky to snack on at the computer. I opened it and did not eat it ...
A: "Best if Used By" information is for quality -- not for safety. The manufacturer of this product ...
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| safe meat | 5/14/2007 |
Q: I purchased ground beef and frozen chicken breast at 12:00 p.m. but wasn't able to get home until ...
A: Yes -- the meat and chicken should be okay to consume. The general rule of thumb is foods purchased ...
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| fridge door open overnight | 5/14/2007 |
Q: I left the fridge door open for nearly overnight (probably at least 6 hours), and when I discovered ...
A: Raw carrots are okay at 60 degrees -- in fact they are often sold at room temperature at farmer's ...
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| Rao's pasta sauce shelf life | 5/11/2007 |
Q: I have had an open bottle of Rao's marinara sauce in my refrigerator for 2 months and wanted to know ...
A: The recommendation for open jars of spaghetti and marinara sauce is to use within 1 week of opening. ...
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| hot food | 5/11/2007 |
Q: is it safe to put warm food that has not long been cooked in the fridge please as i thought all ...
A: What you are asking is "can you put hot food in the refrigerator or must it first be cooled." -- ...
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| Frozen Quiche | 5/11/2007 |
Q: I bought a frozen quiche on Saturday. I stuck it in the refrigerator thinking I would use it on ...
A: The rule of thumb is once frozen food is defrosted you treat it like it was a fresh food -- that is ...
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| Frozen Corn Refrozen | 5/10/2007 |
Q: My son put the groceries away for me last Friday and placed the bag of frozen corn in butter sauce ...
A: The frozen corn is okay to prepare though after going through thawing and refreezing will not be of ...
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| Vacuum packaging | 5/10/2007 |
Q: I have a question what kind of storage is appropriate to for a vacuum packed meat ( frozen - thawed- ...
A: Are you asking for home vacuum packaging or for commercial? I can answer the question for home ...
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| frozen pork left out | 5/9/2007 |
Q: I put a 3-4 lb frozen pork loin out about 6 p.m. and forgot to put it in the fridge. Discovered it ...
A: I wish I could say "Yes" but I can't. And here's why.... Meat is not a sterile item -- never has ...
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| smoked ham | 5/8/2007 |
Q: How long can you leave un uncooked smoked ham in refrigerator before cooking?
A: It is recommended to store an uncooked -- cook-before-eating -- cured, smoked ham under ...
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| refreezing food | 5/8/2007 |
Q: can u freeze some meat and take it out and then refreeze it again before cooking it
A: Yes, as long as the meat was defrosted in the refrigerator and it was then refrozen within 2-3 days ...
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| Homemade Basil Pesto | 5/8/2007 |
Q: Greetings: How long may I safely keep homemade basil pesto in the refrigerator? It contains basil, ...
A: Yum, yum -- I love homemade basil pesto! The recommended refrigerator storage for pesto is no more ...
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| Church Covered Dish Dinners | 5/7/2007 |
Q: How long can food like casserole or meat stay on a buffet (with out a chafing dish) and still be ...
A: The general rule of thumb is 2 hours for both hot dishes and cold dishes. I would suggest that ...
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| Defrosting frozen sirloin | 5/7/2007 |
Q: I took Frozen 3lbs of sirloin steaks out of the freezer this morning at 9am and placed it on the ...
A: The recommendation is to not consume potentially hazardous foods (meat falls into this category) ...
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