food safety question--olives!
Fori
6 years ago
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home food safety tests?
Comments (21)Im new to canning and food preservation. So much information..".to trust or not to trust." Yet even though I hear the bottom line is to trust only the approved testing, I find that I still have questions and have a hard time trusting my end product simply because of the possibility of human error. I read that there is a field test similar to a home pregnancy test that they use to detect botulinum in 20 minutes. Has this been made available to the public and if not, why? It's a great business plan if someone can come up with the science behind it. And Ill buy it. Home testing might also make it possible for others to continue testing since the government quit. But while we're waiting for that, I would like for someone to clarify some information. I know botulinum is the bacteria which produce the toxin (gases) that can hurt us. The bacteria die at a certain temp for a certain time. I have heard some people suggest to boil a home-canned product thoroughly after opening/before eating it to kill the bacteria, but this seems insufficient as the toxins would still be present. It is not the live bacteria that are toxic but the gases that they produce. Also the bacteria die when exposed to oxygen. Does boiling somehow neutralize toxins? Or is this just false information? Lastly, since bacteria produce gases, is it safe to conclude that jars tainted with bacteria would definitely have some outward visible signs of contamination? I know that other bacteria can infect food, but in my short studies I have been led to believe that botulinum is the hardest to kill. But do all bacteria produce gases and therefore provide some indication that food isn't safe?...See MoreFood safety of butcher block countertop?
Comments (12)Are you talking about the wood/butcherblock itself harboring bacteria, or the whether a particular wood finish for a wood/butcherblock countertop is food safe? You might try searching the Kitchen forum, because both have been discussed a great deal in many threads. Also, http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm from which: "Our research was first intended to develop means of disinfecting wooden cutting surfaces at home, so that they would be almost as safe as plastics. Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts. ... wooden cutting boards are not a hazard to human health, but plastic cutting boards may be."...See MoreFood safety question: Egg-based cake/spoonbread
Comments (3)nlla, I wouldn't hesitate to eat that cake. It's not plain eggs left at room temperature and it's a cake, something that normally would not be refrigerated. I have a 6 egg pound cake and a 4 egg sponge cake, as well as a flourless chocolate cake that takes 6 eggs. They all cool on the counter and only the flourless one actually ever gets refrigerated, as it is very fudgy and cooling it helps with cutting and serving. If you give us the recipe or a link to the recipe, that would be more helpful in determining what may or may not cause an issue. If you'd like a second opinion (or a dozen, LOL), try over at Cooking, we all have opinions over there and they are usually all different! Annie...See MoreFood safety question: Egg-based cake/spoonbread
Comments (3)Hey, you did come on over! Thanks for the ingredient list, BTW. My opinion after seeing the ingredient list still stands, I wouldn't hesitate to eat that cake. Thank goodness, it would be a shame to throw away cake, LOL. I used to own a bar and grille and took all the Food Safety classes. They used to say that 4 hours in the "danger zone" was the magic number. Now they've found that the danger zone temps aren't as accurate as they would like them, some bacteria won't grow above 122F (safe zone was 140F and above) although a few will, times and temps depend on ingredients and preparation methods, there are tables and charts now instead of just "4 hours between 40F and 160F". Reading your recipe, though, it's still a cake, albeit a gluten free cake. My opinion is still that it's just fine. Oh, and welcome to the Cooking Forum. Annie...See MoreFori
6 years agoFori
6 years ago
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