USDA's Diane Van urges cooks to follow package directions exactly, since many convenience foods only look ready to eat. She warns that microwaves leave cold spots where bacteria survive and that an oven below the recommended wattage needs longer cooking.
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Advisories
FDA and USDA advisories and warnings.
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Advisories
Cupid is Coming! Tips for a Romantic—and Safe—Dinner
A CDC author offers Valentine's dining food-safety advice, noting that 59% of the 13,405 US foodborne illness outbreaks reported from 1998 to 2008 involved food prepared in a restaurant or deli. Check the premises for cleanliness and order food cooked thoroughly.
Advisories
Is Your Food Safe to Eat for the Big Game?
USDA's Diane Van notes game day ranks second to Thanksgiving for U.S. food consumption and walks through four steps, clean, separate, cook and chill, warning against leaving food out more than two hours. A chicken wing recipe with mango-tamarind sauce follows.
Advisories
Is OJ Safe to Drink?
FDA reports low levels of the fungicide carbendazim in some orange juice made with imported Brazilian concentrate, but says EPA's preliminary risk assessment put those levels far below any that would pose a health concern, and tells consumers there is no reason to stop drinking orange juice.
Advisories
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Severe Storms and Tornadoes
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service issued guidance for Southeast residents after the weekend's storms and tornadoes: keep appliance thermometers in the refrigerator and freezer, freeze water and gel packs ahead of outages, and know where to buy dry ice and block ice.
Advisories
How to Apply for Food Stamps and Nutrition Assistance Programs
A guide to USDA nutrition assistance programs, including SNAP, school meals and WIC, explaining that SNAP applications are handled by state and county offices rather than FNS headquarters and listing the states that accept applications online.
Advisories
Safe Eats - Meat, Poultry & Seafood - FDA
An FDA guide to handling meat, poultry and seafood safely during pregnancy. Wash hands and surfaces with hot soapy water, sanitize counters with a teaspoon of chlorine bleach per quart of water left on for ten minutes, and keep raw foods away from ready-to-eat ones.
Advisories
Raw (Unpasteurized) Milk - U.S. government advice
US government advice warns that raw milk can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites that make people very sick or kill them, that harmful germs do not change milk's look, taste or smell, and that pasteurized yogurt or kefir is a safer source of probiotic bacteria.
Advisories
FDA Update - Reported Findings of Low Levels of Lead in Some Food Products Commonly Consumed by Children
FDA's July 2010 testing of juices and fruit-containing products found none exceeded the tolerable intake levels it sets for lead. The accompanying Q&A explains that lead reaches plants through soil and that washing and processing cannot always remove it.
Advisories
How to Handle Ready-to-Eat Bagged Produce
An FDA food safety official says pre-washed, ready-to-eat bagged produce needs no further washing at home, since rinsing is unlikely to beat a commercial triple wash and the extra handling may contaminate a clean product. Check the label if you are unsure, and wash hands and surfaces.
Advisories
Food Safety Tips for Healthy Holidays from FDA
FDA's holiday advice starts with cleaning: wash hands in warm soapy water for 20 seconds before and after handling food, wash boards, dishes and counters in hot soapy water between items, and rinse produce under cool running water. Older adults, infants, pregnant women and others face higher risk.
Advisories
Turkey FUNdamentals: Deep Fat Frying a Turkey
USDA's Diane Van sets out safe turkey frying: most fryers take a 12-to-16-pound bird, never stuff it, measure the oil by first covering the turkey with water, keep the pot under three-quarters full, and thaw about 24 hours per four to five pounds.
Advisories
Turkey: FAQs
USDA answers common turkey questions: look for the inspection mark and the Grade A shield, pick a bird cold to the touch, and note that frozen turkey stays safe indefinitely, though whole birds are best used within 12 months and parts within 9.
Advisories
Hold the Raw Sprouts, Please
Sprout-linked outbreaks have hit the US every year since at least 1995, and sprouts caused a European Shiga toxin-producing E coli outbreak that killed 50 people. Warm, moist sprouting conditions let a single Salmonella organism reach an infectious dose, and the bacteria cannot be washed off.
Advisories
Avoid “Nightmares” on Halloween: Food Safety Tips
FDA advice for Halloween: feed children before trick-or-treating, inspect treats for pinholes, tears or discoloration and discard anything not commercially wrapped, remove choking hazards for young children, serve only pasteurized cider, and keep perishable party foods chilled.
Advisories
Black Licorice: Trick or Treat?
The FDA warns that people 40 and older who eat two ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks could end up hospitalized with an irregular heartbeat. Glycyrrhizin from licorice root lowers potassium, which can also bring high blood pressure, swelling and heart failure.
Advisories
American Firm Building Partnerships at Chinese Seafood and Fisheries Expo, Qingdao China
Benjamin England's consulting firms FDAImports.com and ExportToUsa.com.cn are courting Chinese partners at the Qingdao seafood expo, which draws over 750 exhibitors from 35 nations, pitching label reviews and FDA compliance work to exporters.
Advisories
USDA: "Referee a Safe Football Tailgate Party"
USDA food safety officials pitch tailgate rules in football terms: wash hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before and after handling food, keep raw meat on its own cutting board and off the cooked platter, and check temperatures with a food thermometer.
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