| Subject | Date Asked |
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| Corn on the Cob left out | 8/13/2007 |
Q: Is it harmful to eat corn on the cob that was in a roaster overnight? The water it was in was ...
A: The general recommendation is that once vegetables are cooked they either need to be kept hot or in ...
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| family feud | 8/13/2007 |
Q: Carol, This may sound trivial, but we have an ongoing argument in my house about how many glasses ...
A: How much is riding on my answer? It is recommended to either regular wash (in hot water and with ...
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| bodily fluids | 8/13/2007 |
Q: i was cooking food for some people but during preparation some of the food got infected with some ...
A: Jared -- are you serious? I can't believe someone with Aids and HIV would be so shallow as to have ...
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| Chili left out overnight | 8/10/2007 |
Q: At about 10 PM I took a pot of beef chili off the stove and put the contents in a covered pyrex ...
A: Unfortunately, the recommendation is to throw out the chili. Potentially hazardous foods (meats, ...
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| Frozen Ground Pork | 8/10/2007 |
Q: We have had ground pork (frozen in packages from the butcher since having a hog processed) in our ...
A: While frozen pork does not get better with quality the longer it is held in the freezer, it is safe ...
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| Keeping Honey | 8/10/2007 |
Q: How long does honey keep in its original jar? Raw / with comb? I have 2 jars... what's the ...
A: I'm not sure there is research on the cupboard storage of honey before freezing. But with honey ...
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| Keeping Honey | 8/9/2007 |
Q: How long does honey keep in its original jar? Raw / with comb? I have 2 jars... what's the ...
A: Honey has an indefinite shelf life because of its high sugar content. Both liquid honey and comb ...
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| Thawing cooked hamburger meat | 8/8/2007 |
Q: I fully cooked a pound of hamburger meat and froze it. Is it safe to keep thawing the meat for ...
A: Yes -- you can cook hamburger, freeze it, defrost it and use it in cooking and then refreeze. The ...
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| meat in microwave | 8/7/2007 |
Q: my husband brought stuff home from the store and said he needed stroganoff cooked in 20 minutes. i ...
A: I'm sorry I was not able to answer your question quickly. The only way to know if the the ...
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| Cooked Steak left out. | 8/5/2007 |
Q: I left a big piece of med rare steak covered in my microwave while cleaning up with the intent to ...
A: The recommendation is to not consume potentially hazardous foods (meat, dairy, poultry, etc) that ...
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| Storing fresh salsa in stainless steel. | 8/4/2007 |
Q: Is it ok to store homemade fresh salsa/tomatoes in a stainless steel container? Our concern is over ...
A: Ken, Stainless steel is fine for food storage as it is a non-reactive metal. This is why stainless ...
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| vacuum-packed chicken | 8/3/2007 |
Q: I put some vacuum-packed chicken breasts out to thaw at about 1PM, they were still mostly frozen at ...
A: First -- it is not recommended to defrost potentially hazardous foods like chicken, meat and seafood ...
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| power out | 8/3/2007 |
Q: We lost power for 12 hours yesterday. What is safe from the refrigerator/freezer and what should be ...
A: You are right to be concerned because a refrigerator will keep food safely cold for only about 4 ...
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| Storing Spaghetti Sauce | 8/3/2007 |
Q: If I make fresh tomato spaghetti sauce and store it in a mason jar, how long will it keep before it ...
A: I assume you mean canning the tomato sauce using recommended methods (hot water bath if without meat ...
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| frozen ground beef | 8/2/2007 |
Q: This year somewhere around February to now I've had 1/4 of frozen ground beef in my freezer. Wasn't ...
A: Yes -- meat that has been continually frozen is safe to eat for years. The reason guidelines are ...
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| haccp | 8/1/2007 |
Q: Cooking oil is a food. How can we cook this food in restraunts all day, several days in a row, and ...
A: Cooking oil is not a potentially hazardous food -- in other words it does not support the growth of ...
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| Frozen food left in car overnight | 7/31/2007 |
Q: I left some frozen food (Hot Pockets, TV dinners, etc) in the car over night. Is it safe to ...
A: The recommendation is to not consume frozen foods that have been left at room temperature or warmer ...
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| Shopping on my lunch hour/groceries in car | 7/30/2007 |
Q: I like to take advantage of my lunch hour to grocery shop. I live in Florida and prefer to leave ...
A: This isn't an unsafe practice, but holding canned food in hot conditions can cause accelerated food ...
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| Frozen beef left out at room temp in sealed bag | 7/28/2007 |
Q: I read about food cooked over night. In my case, I took out frozen meat that had been cooked and ...
A: This is not a recommended way of defrosting meat -- whether it is cooked or raw. The sealed bag ...
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| Food saftey after expiration date | 7/26/2007 |
Q: Can frozen tv dinners be eaten a year after it's expiration date? I mean, there's no way bacteria ...
A: The "best if used by" date on TV dinners is for quality -- not food safety. As long as the dinner ...
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| spoiled steaks | 7/26/2007 |
Q: My mother gave us 12 beautiful steaks wrapped first in plastic , then freezer wrap. My husband ...
A: The recommendation is to not consume a food that can easily support the growth of harmful bacteria ...
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| Food Safety - Fresh Cut Watermelon | 7/24/2007 |
Q: My son cut a watermelon last evening and left it out overnight. Is it still safe to eat the ...
A: First -- I hope your son did not wash the watermelon with antibacterial soap. Soap is not intended ...
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| Unwrapped Unthawed Pork | 7/24/2007 |
Q: My boyfriends roomates left a rack of ribs in the fridge unthawed unwrapped for three weeks. When I ...
A: As long as no juices from the ribs came in contact with any other foods, simply cleaning the area ...
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| testing food | 7/23/2007 |
Q: I was wondering if there is such a service of getting food chemically analyzed, similar to blood ...
A: Yes, there are laboratories that can do food chemical analysis. It's not cheap but it can be done. ...
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| Home Canned Foods | 7/23/2007 |
Q: How long can you store canned foods?
A: Since you have "home canned foods" in the subject line of your question, I am assuming you are ...
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| Milk | 7/22/2007 |
Q: How long can Whole Milk sit out at room temperature. It was just purchased, not opened, and sat out ...
A: The usual recommendation for milk is if it is out of the refrigerator at room temperature for over 2 ...
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| Hamburger meat cooked left overnite in microwave | 7/21/2007 |
Q: I drained the grease off half way through. Finished cooking it the rest of the way, got distracted ...
A: The recommendation is to not consume meat (raw or cooked) that has been at room temperature for over ...
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| cheese storage and processing | 7/20/2007 |
Q: What is the optimal temperature for the storage of cheese. I am looking to warehouse and cut cheese. ...
A: ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) recommends a ...
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| meat left out | 7/19/2007 |
Q: I bought meant and a turkey breast at the grocery store and forgot to bring it in from the car. It ...
A: The recommendation is to not consume meat that has been out at room temperature over 2 hours and at ...
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| food safety - reheating | 7/19/2007 |
Q: I know that if food is left out more than two hours, it is not considered safe to eat. What if it ...
A: I don't quite understand the question. Are you asking if an initially hot food sits out over 2 ...
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| Hamburger | 7/18/2007 |
Q: I bought some hamburger and I put it in the freezer after I bought it. I didn't separate it like I ...
A: Oh I wish you had not taken the hamburger out of the refrigerator to thaw! Thawing at room ...
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| Food Safety | 7/17/2007 |
Q: What, if any items are safe to keep after having left the refrigerator door open all day?
A: The general rule of thumb is discard potentially hazardous foods that have been above 40 degrees for ...
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| canned food | 7/15/2007 |
Q: I used some canned organic pumpkin in a muffins recipe (they are baking 45 minutes @350 degrees). ...
A: The "best if used by" date is a quality issue -- not a safety issue. If the can the pumpkin came ...
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| freezing garlic | 7/15/2007 |
Q: I just wanted to know whether you can freeze fresh garlic. I bought a large container of fresh ...
A: Yes -- you can freeze them but the texture and flavor will be changed. This is why you don't find ...
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| cheesecake freezing | 7/15/2007 |
Q: I am making a bunch of no bake cheesecakes and would like to freeze them for when needed, but the ...
A: Unfortunately, you are finding out that cream cheese does not freeze well as its texture often times ...
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| Food presevation | 7/14/2007 |
Q: I made a pot of beef soup and accidently left it out of the refrigerator overnight. Will it be safe ...
A: Unfortunately, it is not recommended to consume a potentially hazardous food that has been left at ...
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| avocados | 7/12/2007 |
Q: Can avocados be frozen? What is the best way to prepare them for freezing(cut in half, left whole)? ...
A: Yes you can freeze them. Please refer to this excellent, research based web site for information on ...
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| canteloupe | 7/11/2007 |
Q: How long can cut canteloupe be in the fridge for?
A: Cut cantaloupe can last up to one week in the refrigerator, depending upon the ripeness of the melon ...
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| mussels | 7/11/2007 |
Q: The other day we bought 4 pounds of mussels, and my wife and I disagreed about whether to discard ...
A: Heat will cause mussels to open -- whether they were initially alive or dead. Those that did not ...
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| food safety | 7/11/2007 |
Q: I had some unopened bags of frozen vegetables in the freezer and turned off the circuit breakers ...
A: It is possible to refreeze thawed vegetables if they are in good condition. Thawed vegetables after ...
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