I have always stuffed our Thanksgiving turkey with homemade stuffing, but my daughter tells me it’s not safe. Should I stop? Would it make a difference if I used stuffing from a box? Cooking a stuffed turkey is potentially more risky than cooking one without, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection […]
food safety
Raw Milk vs Raw Cheese
What is raw milk? Milk from cows, goats, sheep, or other animals that has not been pasteurized. Pasteurization is considered to be one of the most important food safety practices and is used to treat about 99% of milk sold across the US. The most frequent food illness outbreaks from raw milk are from Campylobacter. […]
Keep Picnic Foods Safe
It’s picnic season. Take time for some simple precautions so that you and your family do not get sick from foodborne illness. First, when you are out-and-about during the summer, make the grocery store your last stop. If you leave perishable items in your car while it is hot, you increase the chances of bacteria […]
American Milk Safe to Drink but being Monitored
The Environmental Protection Agency is actively testing milk samples in California and Spokane, Washington. Tests from last week indicate radioactive iodine from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan are present, but at levels far below those at which action would have to be taken. The main concern is Iodine 131 emitted from the nuclear facility. […]
The “Mother” in the Maple Syrup
Sounds like an episode from Bones, but in actuality the “mother” is a food safety issue. The “mother” refers to a buildup that can form at the top of the maple syrup during storage. But what is it really? Can you skim the “mother” off the top, reboil the syrup, and continue to use it? Researchers in Extension […]
Keep Food-Borne Illness Off Your Holiday Wishlist
You have the turkey, the dressing, the sweet potatoes, the pumpkin pie, and the salmonella. The salmonella? No thank you. Holidays are social and full of our favorite foods, but they are also an opportune time for bacteria to enter, grow, and thrive in your refrigerator. You have a lot of people preparing the meals. The amount of […]