Questions tagged [food-safety]
Our community answers question on food safety as defined by official regulations. Questions and answers that contradict that view, are considered off-topic.
2,246
questions
0
votes
0
answers
60
views
How do I know if my homemade natto is successful? Smells like ammonia
If my natto smells like ammonia is it bad/safe to eat? It has strings and bubbles when I mix it, but is a bit soggy. I think I left too much liquid in after the boiling.
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
Is food safe to eat if the visible mold is removed? [duplicate]
If I have a jar of sauce for instance which has mold growing on the surface, if I remove that mold from the top have I removed everything pathogenic? Or is there more invisible/difficult to see mold ...
- 1,581
0
votes
1
answer
98
views
Is a puffy freezer bag a sign of spoilage?
Recently I had bought some chicken and put it in the freezer to keep it because it wasn't going to be used right away.
That was about a week ago maybe two, last night I took some of the chicken out ...
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
132
views
What does the USDA mean when it says cooked (meat) is good for a range of days? [duplicate]
For example, it says cooked beef is good for 3-4 days. Does this mean that some cooked beef will not be good after 3 days? Should extra precautions be taken if eating food between 3 and 4 days? If ...
- 131
2
votes
1
answer
121
views
Do I need to add citric acid to can tomato sauce if I used tomatoes from a can with citric acid?
Do I need to add citric acid to can tomato sauce if I used tomatoes from a can with citric acid? I want to prevent botulism and such and need higher acidity to can my tomato sauce but I figured my ...
- 1,812
0
votes
1
answer
118
views
What's this white matter in a sauerkraut jar?
I have just opened a jar of store-bought organic raw sauerkraut and I found this white matter on it that you can see in the picture. It doesn't look like regular mold, and it doesn't look like Kahm ...
1
vote
1
answer
91
views
When to throw out a recipe [duplicate]
If I have cooked chicken and need it to used by Sunday, can I make soup with it and the soup have an extended shelf life? Or do I need to throw out the soup on Monday?
- 11
3
votes
2
answers
532
views
Cooking beans safely - contradictory advice
I'd like to cook beans from dried, but I see a lot of contradictory safety advice about neutralising the toxins that occur in raw beans.
I've seen:
Rolling boil for 5 mins before simmering until ...
- 392
1
vote
0
answers
79
views
Food safety of spontaneusly fermented mango
I had a very big mango on kitchen table for few days and at the stem it got a bit brown, a bit less than half was completely normal, but the inbetween was very soft and had strong alcohol taste and ...
- 111
0
votes
1
answer
106
views
Are hard boiled eggs safe to eat after hours out of the fridge? [duplicate]
I left hard boiled eggs in cold water over night are they still good to eat? The have the egg odor to them
- 1
3
votes
2
answers
87
views
Is it safe to rinse tins and plastic bottles out with hot water?
When making dishes with tinned tomatoes etc, it is good practice to rinse these out with water to get the remaining contents out. Sometimes, to save on washing up I use hot or boiling water instead so ...
- 4,267
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
Cooked Meatloaf left in oven [duplicate]
I cooked a meatloaf at 350 Fahrenheit for 50 minutes, then turned the oven off and forgot the meatloaf was in there for six hours.
Is it still good to eat?
- 1
4
votes
3
answers
213
views
Alternatives to mustard oil?
Is there an accessible, legal product in the USA that will impart the sinus-tingling sensation of mustard when preparing spice blends for Indian cooking?
No sooner did I discover the sinus-heating ...
- 1,217
2
votes
2
answers
206
views
Was our chicken the correct temperature?
I heated (in a 900W microwave) some pre-cooked, shop-bought barbecue sauce-covered chicken wings. Unfortunately, instead of doing so for the required two minutes and thirty seconds, I only heated them ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
84
views
Is it safe to eat yogurt made at 90 degrees F with a culture that requires at least 115 degrees Fahrenheit? The yogurt looks thick and smells fine
I tried to culture Bacillus coagulans for 36 hours in my yogurt machine that is supposed to go to 115 degrees F. However, the peak temp reached was an only about 100 degrees. Is it safe to eat yogurt ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
125
views
Not cold marinate on chicken?
Help! I just poured my marinade on cut up chicken and realized it wasn’t totally cooled! I stirred it well and then immediately put it in the fridge! Is my meat okay?
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
74
views
Bubbling after storing chili fried in oil and vinegar over night
To make spicy oil, I followed this procedure:
first I fine-minced dried chili
I put them in a pan with wine vinegar (7% acidity), some salt and oil and cooked it until it started to go brown (which I ...
- 103
8
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Too much nutmeg?
Short version:
Is about 3 g nutmeg too much for a single meal?
Long version:
This evening, I prepared 2 big dishes of spinach lasagna. I like to eat rather spicy, but I overdid it a bit this time, ...
- 189
0
votes
2
answers
126
views
Claussen Pickles Bitter
I have been buying Claussen Pickles for years and never have had a problem with them. For some reason this jar of pickles has a bitter taste. I don't know if its a problem with the batch of cucumbers ...
3
votes
1
answer
972
views
Swollen meat packages (modified atmosphere packaging)
I noticed that many packages of chicken or ground turkey are swollen in the store and there is no huge fuss made over them. I know modified atmosphere packaging could cause this but this article and ...
- 1,202
1
vote
1
answer
153
views
To be safe I just tossed some goose stock I made three weeks ago. What could realistically have been in it? [duplicate]
I just realized that I forgot about the stock I made from the Christmas goose. I am aware that stock, especially made from poultry, is an excellent growth medium for all kinds of microorganisms, so I ...
1
vote
0
answers
24
views
Can i reheat soup I left out for 4hrs [duplicate]
I keep hearing people say stuff like "throw it away after 2 hrs if it was left out in the open bla bla"
In reality, a lot of persons can't afford to throw food away, like me.
So what if I ...
- 19
3
votes
2
answers
251
views
How many times (and ways) can you reheat honey safely?
We have an old house that is quite cold especially in winter. As a result, the bottled honey we buy solidifies in the squeeze bottle. The manufacturer recommendation for this is to gently reheat the ...
- 4,267
2
votes
0
answers
480
views
Bananas have blue/green spots - Are these safe?
In all my years of buying bananas, I have never seen this. In this case, the bananas are organic and sourced from Peru (no idea if that makes a difference or not).
I bought the bananas when they were ...
- 139
-3
votes
1
answer
113
views
What are the chances that vegan cocoa butter is adulterated with cow butter? [closed]
I have a severe intolerance to lactose. I took years to learn what kind of food to avoid, but in the past few years I did relatively well. Recently I had a sequence of severe reactions. I am still ...
0
votes
1
answer
119
views
Safety of chicken after thawing temperature at the wrong temperature
I tried thawing chicken breasts in my refrigerator, but after leaving them in there for 1.5 days, I took their temperature with a meat thermometer and found them to be 47 degrees Fahrenheit.
From what ...
2
votes
1
answer
318
views
Lost water in sous vide container overnight
I had 2 roasts in my sous vide at 132 degrees for 10 hours and went to bed at 10 and checked at 7 this morning and had no water as had sprung a leak
Planned on cooking for 36 hours so started again
...
- 21
0
votes
2
answers
84
views
Frozen turkey cooking? Not for thanksgiving!
I bought a turkey right after thanksgiving to turn into broth but didn’t the day of so I froze it and now I don’t know if I can put the frozen turkey into a pot as is or if I’d have to thaw it like ...
5
votes
2
answers
198
views
Why is my spatchcocked chicken bloody?
I cooked a medium sized chicken spatchcocked with the backbone removed and the bird flattened after I cracked open the breastbone "star" with a sharp knife. The bird was placed skin side up ...
- 4,267
3
votes
3
answers
575
views
Is the skin on cashew nuts edible?
In e.g. Viet Nam they seem to usually sell cashew nuts with the skin still on. Is the skin edible?
Viet Nam:
Most other countries where I've had cashew nuts:
- 131
0
votes
2
answers
265
views
Can I eat food with a bit of mold if I treat it for X minutes in the microwave?
This question may sound as stupid as it is, but I just want to feed my curiosity (I am not going to eat mouldy food).
I am trying to find a common point for these two assumptions (provided that both ...
- 721
0
votes
0
answers
18
views
Do I need to refridgerate home made salad dressing? [duplicate]
I made a salad dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Is it necessary to refridgerate this dressing?
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
38
views
Thawing Turkey with cold and refrigerator methods
After I have started with cold water method for partial thawing, when I switch back to refrigerator should ai remove Turkey from original wrapper, pat dry, and place in another bag to complete the ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
205
views
How long will uncooked Christmas pudding mixture last?
Is it safe to keep uncooked Christmas pudding mixture for a week before cooking? This is for a Christmas pudding with stout and brandy.
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
54
views
Food safety for stew left out, then put in the fridge, then frozen later [duplicate]
So, we started out with making low-meat stew, which had some pork in it, in an Instant Pot.
After it was done it was left on the counter to cool off a bit before being put in the fridge.
But rather ...
1
vote
0
answers
50
views
Can I leave frozen meals (containing meat) in my bag for the whole day and eat it at 6pm? [duplicate]
I want to bring my prepped frozen meals to work and reheat them at about 6 pm. They will be sitting in my bag at room temp for ~9 hours. Will they still be safe to eat if I reheat them in the ...
- 11
0
votes
0
answers
38
views
Is My Vaccum Sealed & Marianted Steak Still Good? [duplicate]
I accidentally left out two raw steaks that were individually vacuum sealed and marinating in Worcestershire and A1 for about 5 hours. They were mostly frozen when I put them out and it's pretty ...
- 101
0
votes
0
answers
58
views
Medium-rare steak safety? Temperature and "standing"? [duplicate]
So we're cooking fried medium rare steak, which turns out very nice and juicy and tasty. But I want to be sure about the safety.
The steak thermometer reaches 65 Celsius, which would be 149 Fahrenheit....
- 101
1
vote
1
answer
135
views
Does shaking a jug of milk impact its longevity
With some products like non-homogenous milk and ciders with precipitate its desireable to give the jug one or two sharp shakes for consistency. But I've found myself habitually doing this even for ...
- 13
3
votes
1
answer
749
views
Why would HTST/UHT milk be "unsafe, but not taste bad"?
User @rumtscho notes in another question's answer:
If you are trying to keep the milk for multiple days in the fridge
It will become unsafe after 3-5 days, there is no way around that. If
you switch ...
- 584
16
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Why consume DRIED apricots within 21 days?
I bought a large bag of dried apricots at Costco. I was planning to enjoy them slowly over the next few months (the Best Before date is in mid 2023) but the label says: "Reseal and refrigerate ...
- 399
0
votes
1
answer
99
views
No water bath canning
I want to use the same recipe for green tomatoes and other vegetables. Is it safe. I do not use water bath
My recipes used 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water. I use it for cayenne peppers.
user101611
3
votes
1
answer
301
views
Is strong smell normal for Serrano ham or is my ham bad
I just got Noel branded Spanish Serrano ham from Costco. Remove ham from the plastic package and noticed that there is a strong smell coming from the ham. It's not terrible but not very pleasant ...
- 31
1
vote
2
answers
149
views
Canned and sealed jars of boiling applesauce now after two weeks a little mold on some jars. What do I do? Can it be saved?
Canning applesauce. It was boiling and jars sealed. After two weeks a little mold on some of the jars… do I have a problem? Can it be fixed now?
(From later information:)
The jars are completely ...
0
votes
1
answer
152
views
There are black stains on the kitchen tissue when I wipe my pan after washing, is it safe to use the pan?
After washing my pan with dishwashing liquid, I was wiping it dry with a kitchen tissue and noticed black stains on it. So I washed the pan again with dishwashing liquid and wiped it but the black ...
- 3
5
votes
1
answer
83
views
What is the best way to set hot water pastry?
Some hot water pie recipes require the pastry to be moulded into shape and left to dry out and set overnight or up to 24 hours before filling and baking (e.g. Scotch pies).
Is it best to leave the ...
- 4,267
0
votes
1
answer
54
views
Best way to sous vide food in large vacuum pouches
I know there is no reason not to trim oversized vacuum pouches to fit the contents, but if you are not able to do so, what is the best way to deal with the excess pouch during cooking?
If you leave ...
- 4,267
0
votes
1
answer
67
views
How to decode some less common food Expiration Manufactured codes (US)? [closed]
How do I decode these codes?
206 X4A1 14:57 and 206V
9
votes
5
answers
5k
views
I need to judge whether my bread flour is ok or not. 50LB bag 11 months old
The bag was packed tight. It was in standard flour sack and inside a thick cardboard shipping box, there were a few hundred pounds on top of it, on a skid. It was not wrapped in plastic. Mostly the ...
- 91
5
votes
2
answers
501
views
Are chemical ice packs as efficient as regular ice?
I live in a moderately temporary climate and our fridge freezer does not have an built-in ice maker.
I want to rapidly chill food after cooking it sous vide. Would cold water from the tap supplemented ...
- 4,267