The Food Safety and Home Kitchen Hygiene/Sanitation Topic

[lindag]

I think a big factor is how cold your fridge is.

i keep mine at maximum cold.  Recently I put a frozen chicken in the garage fridge and three days later it was still rock solid.

(I like my beer cold.)

[btbyrd]

1 hour ago, lindag said:

I think a big factor is how cold your fridge is.

 i keep mine at maximum cold.  Recently I put a frozen chicken in the garage fridge and three days later it was still rock solid.

(I like my beer cold.)

 

No joke! This is a rule I also follow. People should have a thermometer in their oven, but they should also have two in their fridge -- one on the top and one on the bottom shelf. And you should organize it so that perishable foods that can contaminate things (like raw meat) are physically lower in your fridge so that they only "contaminate downwards." It's the "trickle down" theory of fridge safety. Anyway, double check that your fridge is actually cold where you plan to store your food, and keep it as cold as you can without things freezing.

Edited April 23, 2019 by btbyrd (log)

[Bernie]

The other thing to consider is the state when you originally froze it. If it was reasonably fresh (not near its use by date) and the store where you got it keeps it displayed & stored at close to freezing and you didn't wait too long before you vacuum & froze and you kept it cold from when you purchased it, then it maybe fine. Maybe.

If you go ahead and use it, and you stop posting we will know you probably shouldn't have. 😀

Personally, I wouldn't use it.

[lindag]

7 hours ago, kayb said:

OK. Got a question. I took a package of chicken breasts out of the freezer and put them in the fridge to thaw about 10 days ago, and forgot them. They're in a vacuum sealed package. Safe or not safe?

 

 

Please let us know how this turned out.

[kayb]

OK. I'm cowardly. Since I didn't cook it tonight....I'm tossing it.

 

[Okanagancook]

Excellent choice.😍

[Tri2Cook]

On 4/23/2019 at 8:10 PM, kayb said:

OK. I'm cowardly. Since I didn't cook it tonight....I'm tossing it.

 

10-days-in-the-fridge uncooked chicken... that wasn't cowardly, that was smart.

[Darienne]

First thing I opened this morning and got my (still sick) morning off to a horribly disturbed start:  https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/10/from-poisoned-party-to-toxic-toast-how-to-get-nerve-poison-out-of-your-food/?utm_source=Food+Safety+News&utm_campaign=f6b2cc0f55-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f46cc10150-f6b2cc0f55-40727769

 

Read this only after you are feeling strong.  It's devastating.  

 

Added question:  How did I get to be 81 years old, having since about the age of 40, read countless articles about the best diets to follow, what foods to avoid, and so on and so on, and this is the very first time I've ever read anything like this?

Edited October 17, 2022 by Darienne (log)

[chromedome]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

First thing I opened this morning and got my (still sick) morning off to a horribly disturbed start:  https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/10/from-poisoned-party-to-toxic-toast-how-to-get-nerve-poison-out-of-your-food/?utm_source=Food+Safety+News&utm_campaign=f6b2cc0f55-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f46cc10150-f6b2cc0f55-40727769

 

Read this only after you are feeling strong.  It's devastating.  

 

Added question:  How did I get to be 81 years old, having since about the age of 40, read countless articles about the best diets to follow, what foods to avoid, and so on and so on, and this is the very first time I've ever read anything like this?

It's an opinion piece. You've heard the rule of thumb that "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence?" The writer hasn't offered any, but *has* offered up a theory that a high percentage of all foods cooked  throughout human history is bad for us. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

 

We've only identified acrylimide in food within the last couple of decades, and given its prevalence (per the links in that very article, it's present in 40% of calories consumed in America) it clearly isn't moving the needle very much. I'm sure it's a factor in overall health for some people, and may be contributing to ill-health in a small percentage of the population, but there are much larger concerns out there.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

Read this only after you are feeling strong.  It's devastating.  

 

Added question:  How did I get to be 81 years old, having since about the age of 40, read countless articles about the best diets to follow, what foods to avoid, and so on and so on, and this is the very first time I've ever read anything like this?

 

I read it.  Whoever writes their headlines is clearly an effective alarmist!  Acrylamide is indeed nasty stuff, especially when inhaled and it certainly seems prudent to minimize its consumption.  Even though it hasn't been conclusively proven to cause cancer, it seems quite likely.  The fact that different species metabolize acrylamide differently makes it challenging to draw conclusions from animal studies and humans are notoriously difficult to study.  

A lot of the foods on the list to avoid are worth limiting due to their sugar and fat content so obesity and diabetes are probably greater risks from a diet high in fried foods and baked goods than acrylamide toxicity is.

 

As to your second question, the formation of acrylamide in cooking has really only been studied for the last 20 years so neither you nor anyone else knew about it 40 years ago!

 

Edited to add:  Maybe don't read those emails in the morning. 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2022 by blue_dolphin (log)

[Arey]

2 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

I read it.  Whoever writes their headlines is clearly an effective alarmist!  Acrylamide is indeed nasty stuff, especially when inhaled and it certainly seems prudent to minimize its consumption.  Even though it hasn't been conclusively proven to cause cancer, it seems quite likely.  The fact that different species metabolize acrylamide differently makes it challenging to draw conclusions from animal studies and humans are notoriously difficult to study.  

A lot of the foods on the list to avoid are worth limiting due to their sugar and fat content so obesity and diabetes are probably greater risks from a diet high in fried foods and baked goods than acrylamide toxicity is.

 

As to your second question, the formation of acrylamide in cooking has really only been studied for the last 20 years so neither you nor anyone else knew about it 40 years ago!

And, at my age(82), if I did know about it 40 years ago,I  probably wouldn't remember it now unless I was orthorexic.

[palo]

My prescription: take it with grain of salt

 

Oh! Wait! That's probably bad for you too!

 

I say this in jest, not to belittle other's health concerns

 

p

[Kerry Beal]

I'm getting a little Dr Oz feeling with that author - Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease

[gfweb]

56 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

I'm getting a little Dr Oz feeling with that author - Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease

He and his wife are the directors of the Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease located in Hawaii. He is internationally recognized for his revolutionary research linking breast cancer with the wearing of tight bras, which he describes in his book

 

There will  no doubt be  a call from Stockholm soon.

 

 

[rotuts]

@Kerry Beal , @gfweb 

 

wow . I thankfully have lived very quiet life 

 

over recent years .

 

Ozzie ( not the Nelson ) , there it is.

 

makes a great deal of cents to me :

 

Its the Lymphatics Constrained !

[Kerry Beal]

25 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Kerry Beal , @gfweb 

 

wow . I thankfully have lived very quiet life 

 

over recent years .

 

Ozzie ( not the Nelson ) , there it is.

 

makes a great deal of cents to me :

 

Its the Lymphatics Constrained !

Indeed - gotta let your lymphatics run free I've alway said!

[weinoo]

I think my lymphatics sometimes run too free!

[palo]

NE US:

 

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/health/deli-meat-cheese-listeria-wellness/index.html

 

p

[Anna N]

Some statements from the above article have me scratching my head. Bolding is mine. 
 

People at high risk of severe illness from listeria infection — such as pregnant people, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems — should not eat meat or cheese from any deli counter without first reheating it “steaming hot,” the agency suggests.

 

[Steamed cheese Yum Yum]. 

 

Most of the people identified in the outbreak so far are of Eastern European descent or speak Russian, the CDC said, adding that the agency is still investigating reasons for why the outbreak appears to be disproportionately affecting this population.

 

[So wait, if you are of Eastern European descent and speak Russian you get off?]

 

If you have purchased deli cheese or meat, the agency recommends a careful cleaning of your refrigerator — and any containers or surfaces the meat or cheese may have touched — with hot, soapy water.

 

[That’s a hell of a lot of fridges to be cleaned]

 

There is nothing amusing about an outbreak of listeria, but there certainly is about this piece of gobbledygook. 

 

 

 

[palo]

Don't shoot the messenger please, btw my kitchen hygiene is almost non-existent, but I'm still here, last time I checked

 

p

[Anna N]

24 minutes ago, palo said:

Don't shoot the messenger please, btw my kitchen hygiene is almost non-existent, but I'm still here, last time I checked

 

p

Nobody was shooting the messenger. My comments were about the article which should never have been published the way it is. It serves no useful purpose that I can determine.

[TdeV]

Yesterday noonish I took a package of 6 vacuum-sealed frozen raw duck legs out of the freezer and put them on a wooden table. The temp in this room is high 60s F. I found them this morning, thoroughly thawed.

 

Internet search doesn't reply to these conditions.

 

I thought to open the packet and smell them -- I'm pretty sensitive to off smells.

 

Is this an adequate test?

[rotuts]

@TdeV 

 

what a tough question.

 

I doubt sniff test will help you if its negative.

 

you might try to SV them to pasteurization 

 

then see if there is gas in the bag

 

or just toss them out

 

and take it as a lesson learned.

Edited October 8, 2023 by rotuts (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

I'm with rotus. And even if it does take care of the bacteria or possible salmonella problem, the flavor is definitely going to suffer. An expensive lesson, to be sure, but a lot less expensive than food poisoning and an emergency visit would cost.

[gfweb]

Not all toxins are inactivated by heat esp by the gentle heat of SV.

I'd toss them. A vac sealed bag is just right for botulism.  It takes about 80C for quite some time to kill already-formed toxin