#food-safety

#food-safety

In the video, an unseen narrator opens a bag of Lipton lemon-flavored green tea - normally, you would never open your tea bag, so it's unclear what prompted this. The narrator proceeds to pour out the loose tea and begins to point out tiny shapes, claiming are "worms," despite nothing moving over the course of the video. The narrator also says it's not a fluke, as "several bags and several boxes" that they've opened are the same.

Texans love steak. What other state has politicians putting forth plans to declare an official state steak? Texas Representative Ken King wants to name the Tomahawk Steak the official steak of Texas, so it comes as no surprise that Texans are 14 times more likely to call steak their state dish than chili, according to NewsWire, and it's their top pick for grilling by a wide margin.

There's a horrible waste of food that could feed so many people. Whether it's from restaurants, hospitals, or stores. When I worked in a kitchen, I took the leftover food to shelters. My manager told us all not to let anyone know I did this or where the food was from. The owner's son was against donating food. (Yes, I understand the fear of being sued if someone gets sick.)

Sriracha is made from a mixture of chili peppers (typically red jalapeño), acidic distilled vinegar, umami garlic, sugar, and salt. Like most chili-pepper-based hot sauces, sriracha is hardy and durable, but not immune to quality degradation over time due to prolonged light and air exposure. Still, dark red tones (even to the point of bordering on dark red-brown) aren't necessarily signs that your sriracha has turned.

Desserts are best when shared, but baking your favorite sweet treats often yields a fair amount of leftovers. From the olden days of leaving pies to cool on the windowsill or modern variations of setting out a tray of cupcakes to nosh on sporadically, it's a common practice to leave desserts on the counter for better ease of access and enjoyment. Though you might be used to slicing a piece of creamy cake for yourself, you might not be aware that pastries which include dairy elements are better when stored in the refrigerator. This is both to keep the dairy ingredients at a proper temperature and to avoid risking your sweets becoming unsafe to eat.

Once you've taken care to cut the outer peel from a fresh pineapple, you might just find some brown spots from the leftover peel, which are commonly referred to as "eyes." Albeit unsightly and unpleasant in taste and texture, the simplest way to remove these eyes while reducing food waste is with the use of a spoon. This is the quickest and easiest method that will leave the most fruit intact.

If you live in the area around the Gulf of Mexico and you bought some fish recently, you could be subject to a major seafood recall. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a recall for nearly 100,000 pounds of catfish fillets, which the agency says were produced without any federal inspection. In the September 15 announcement, the agency says these catfish products were shipped to both restaurant and retail locations in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

It depends a little exactly what you put into it, but a dry rub made from ground spices should last up to a year when stored correctly. Spices don't tend to go bad in the traditional sense but do lose their flavor over time. However, if you do see any signs of mold or an unpleasant smell, it's a sign that something in the mix has spoiled and needs to be thrown out.

You may not think of flour as raw, but that's just what it is. No part of the process of harvesting, grinding, bleaching, or packing most types of flour heats it enough to kill bacteria that may be present; cooking it takes care of that. But if you don't cook your flour before consuming, you're putting yourself at risk of food poisoning from Salmonella or E. coli, according to the FDA.

Everything is going great, and as you polish off an appetizer, your server arrives with your entrée in hand. You pick up your cutlery, preparing to dig in. But, as you're about to take your first bite, something catches your attention - dried, crusted food remnants on the edges of your plate, that clearly isn't a part of your scrumptious meal. You quickly scan the rest of your plate, the rim of your class, and your fork in hand, and wonder, "Is my dinnerware dirty?"

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

But we also have to be careful of how we store our sugar. A preservative in and of itself, sugar doesn't expire on its own. But if it's exposed to air, it meets moisture, and that moisture can turn its fine granules into hard clumps and also introduce bacteria - two deal-breakers for using that sugar again. Plus, exposed sugar is basically a cordial invitation to pests.

The kitchen counter is often the place where we leave foods that don't need to be refrigerated. Unfortunately, we might not know exactly which foods are safe to leave out and which ones are not. Correct food storage and safety is something we all need to get clued up on to prevent foodborne illness and food poisoning. Proper storage can also help food maintain its quality for longer, thus preventing food waste.

The part of the restaurant implicated in the closure notice, as served by the FSAI on 27 August, concerns a storage unit at the side of the premises which was inspected by a HSE food safety officer. The officer's report on the findings of the unit's inspection said the droppings were found on shelving and food equipment inside the unit. It also highlighted how the unit was "inadequately pest-proofed" with "numerous gaps, holes, and defects in the structure" that could allow rodents to enter.

Microwave safe simply means that the material won't melt, crack, or warp in high heat produced by a microwave, which can reach up to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. As long as the container remains intact, you're technically in the clear. The term doesn't account for less visible risks. From a regulatory standpoint, there's no universally enforced standard for what makes a container safe for the microwave. Container makers often decide for themselves whether the product merits the label.

That preservative is borax (also known as E285, sodium tetraborate) - yes, the same compound that can clean your sink or boost laundry detergent. A close cousin, boric acid (E286), sometimes substitutes for it. Caviar makers prize both because they're remarkably effective: they fight bacteria, firm up the delicate roe, and even mellow out that sharp "fishy" taste.

Copper molds are a vintage baking tool that people don't use much anymore. They were regularly used during the Victorian era to make decorative, molded dishes like puddings, cakes, and breads. They were typically handmade by artisans and very ornate, molded into delightful shapes like fish, flowers, birds, rabbits, and fruit. However, handmade copper molds fell out of favor after World War I, as the materials weren't readily available and many of the craftsmen capable of making them had retired.

For all that festive fun, though, nothing is sadder than opening your cooler to find the beer squashed the sandwiches or the cooler's contents have basically become one smushed up, soggy mess. Luckily, there's a better way: By using cutting boards as makeshift shelves, you can keep your cooler tidy, its contents smash-free, and you can even help create layers for optimal cooling. This is one of the smartest ways to keep those picnic foods organized and in peak condition.

According to the USDA, once eggs are cooked, they should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. If the day is especially hot - 90 degrees Fahrenheit or higher - that window shrinks to just one hour. After that, the risk of bacterial growth, including Salmonella (eggs are one of the most common causes of Salmonella infections), climbs quickly.

Sliminess on produce is a classic sign of spoilage bacteria. These bacteria break down the plant's structure, often feeding on excess moisture that builds up inside packaging or after washing. According to the USDA, spoilage bacteria aren't generally harmful to ingest in small amounts, but they make food look, smell, and taste strange. In other words, the slimy texture isn't necessarily unsafe, but it means your produce is well past its prime.