Food Safety

Food preservation and storage

Foodborne illness

Gift foods

Keeping hands and food clean

Safe food preparation

Specific foods

Emergencies

• Containers for emergency water storage
• How long will the food in my freezer stay cold when the power is off?
• Keeping perishables safe during power outages
• Refreezing food when the power has been off
• Salvaging food after spring floodwater seepage
• Slow cookers and power outages during the day

top

Food preservation and storage

Canning

• Cakes-in-a-jar pose safety hazards
• Can I safely re-can jars that did not seal?
• Can I use lime juice in my salsa?
• How can I safely can applesauce?
• How do I safely can salsa at home?
• Why must I add acid when canning tomatoes?
• Why should vegetables be blanched before freezing?
• Why shouldn't I use a homemade salsa recipe?

Drying

• How can I make venison jerky safely?

Freezing, re-freezing and thawing

• Can I let meat thaw in the microwave while I'm at work?
• Is it OK to refreeze ice cream that has been left out?

Holding and storing foods and beverages

• At home
  • Best places for storing food
  • How cold should my refrigerator be?
  • How long can I store bottled water?
  • How much time do we have to put away the leftovers?
  • Is it OK to eat cold leftovers?
  • Is it safe to use dry ice in holiday punch?
  • Storing beans, wheat and rice
  • Storing bulk flour
  • Using refrigerator "meat" drawers safely
  • What is the shelf life of staples and canned goods?
• On the road
  • Foods to avoid on picnics
  • Keeping holiday buffets safe
  • Keeping pies cold at picnics
  • Mayonnaise on lunch box sandwiches
  • Packed lunches on cross-country ski trips
  • Traveling with take-out food

   

top

Foodborne illness

• Can too many peanuts cause aflaxotin poisoning?
• Avoiding infection
• Can home-grown sprouts be contaminated?
• Is it food poisoning or the flu?
• Is my kitchen at risk?
• Moldy cheese
• Norwalk-like virus

top

Gift foods

• Cakes-in-a-jar pose safety hazards
• Sending mail-order food gifts

top

Keeping hands and food clean

• Are antibacterial hand soaps and household cleansers a good idea?
• Can kitchen sink sponges be sanitized in the microwave?
• How can I convince my kids to wash their hands more often?
• What is the best way to clean hands at picnics?

top

Safe food preparation

Avoiding cross-contamination

• How can I avoid cross-contamination?

Cooking, grilling and reheating

• Avoid eating uncooked hot dogs
• Can I fill taco shells without heating them first?
• Can water really explode in the microwave?
• How can I make sure my grilled meats are safe to eat?
• Prevent "cold spots" in microwave-prepared foods
• Use caution when basting with meat marinades

Cookware and food containers

• Flaking non-stick coatings
• Microwaving foods in Styrofoam containers
• Seasoning wooden cutting boards

top

Specific foods

Breads

• Preservative-free breads

Condiments and spices

• Can I safely make garlic-in-oil at home?
• Is it true that infants should not eat honey?

Eggs

• Don't eat commercially prepared, refrigerated cookie dough
• How can I make eggnog when raw eggs shouldn't be eaten?
• How can I safely make a cream liqueur cordial?
• How do I safely make pickled eggs?
• How long can Easter eggs be left at room temperature?

Genetically modified foods

• Are transgenic foods safe?

Milk

Produce

• Are produce washes a good idea?
• Can I eat fruit that's partially rotted?
• Can solanines in potatoes cause problems?
• Should roadside-stand produce be washed before eating?

Seafood

• Are raw and lightly marinated seafoods safe to eat?
• How long will smoked fish last?
• Who should avoid eating fish-and which fish?

Turkey

• How can I make sure the turkey is done?
• How long can I safely store a fresh turkey?
• Is it still safe to stuff a turkey?
• Must I use a meat thermometer?
• What's the best way to defrost our turkey?

top