Risky or Not?

A short podcast about everyday risks from germs

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DALL·E - A package of Gouda and a package of mozzarella in the grass in the rain photo realistic

507. Mozzarella and Gouda Left in Rain for 4 Hours

September 06, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of mozzarella and Gouda cheese left in the rain for four hours.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Fresh Mozzarella Ball | Galbani Cheese
  • Amazon.com: 365 by Whole Foods Market, Mozzarella Bar, 16 Ounce : Grocery & Gourmet Food
  • Storage Temperatures Necessary to Maintain Cheese Safety - International Association for Food Protection
September 06, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Cheese, Time temperature control for safety

DALL·E Kids on a lawn playing in a water sprinkler in the style of norman rockwell

506. Kids on Lawns Irrigated With Water Containing Pathogenic E. coli

September 04, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of letting your kids play on a lawn 24 hours after that lawn has been irrigated with water containing pathogenic E. coli.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Justin Ekins on X: "@benjaminchapman @bugcounter would it be #RiskyOrNot if my kids played on the lawn watered by this E. Coli contaminated water 24 hours after shutting off the sprinklers? https://t.co/5CKbLVELOd" / X
  • More E. coli cases appear in Lehi; city taking steps to treat irrigation water | News, Sports, Jobs - Daily Herald
  • Lehi City - Lehi City
  • E. Coli Information - Lehi City
  • Survival of Escherichia coli in the environment: fundamental and public health aspects - PMC
  • Pressurized Irrigation - Lehi City
September 04, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Water, Cross-contamination, E. coli

DALL·E - Avocados in a pitcher of water in a refrigerator

505. Avocados Stored in Water in the Refrigerator

September 01, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of storing avocados in water in your refrigerator.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - risky ☣️ (updated)

  • Guacamole - Wikipedia
  • Research Triangle Park | Where People + Ideas Converge
  • neil chazin on X: "@bugcounter @benjaminchapman is this actually risky at fridge temps (assuming your fridge is set properly)? https://t.co/J0dkvx3JnG" / X
  • Avocado in Water Storage ‘Hack’ Isn’t Safe. Here’s What to Do Instead
  • Internalization of Listeria monocytogenes in Whole Avocado - ScienceDirect
  • Behavior of Listeria monocytogenes in Avocado Pulp and Processed Guacamole - ScienceDirect
  • Evaluation of Avocados as a Possible Source of Listeria monocytogenes Infections, United States, 2016 to 2019 - ScienceDirect
  • Listeria monocytogenes Dose Response Revisited—Incorporating Adjustments for Variability in Strain Virulence and Host Susceptibility - Pouillot* - 2015 - Risk Analysis - Wiley Online Library
  • Ice Ice Baby - Wikipedia
September 01, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Avocado, Listeria monocytogenes

DALL·E variations on A guy with red beam shooting out of his eyes. The red beams are slicing an avocado. In the style of Jack Kirby

504. The Chipotle Autocado

August 30, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks posed by the avocado cutting machine known as the Autocado.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Lee Katz @lskatz@mstdn.science on X: "@benjaminchapman @bugcounter introducing the autocado, a new avocado cutting machine. #riskyornot? I feel like it would be risky unless there is a really good plan to clean it. Thinking of this FDA report too with all the contamination on the rinds. https://t.co/Fi0BDfDInv" / X
  • Meet Chipotle’s New Guacamole Robot, Autocado
  • James Marsden | LinkedIn
  • Kerry Bridges | LinkedIn
  • You need to wash avocados, unless you want listeria
  • Evaluation of Avocados as a Possible Source of Listeria monocytogenes Infections, United States, 2016 to 2019 - PubMed
  • Internalization of Listeria monocytogenes in Whole Avocado - ScienceDirect
  • Behavior of Listeria monocytogenes in Avocado Pulp and Processed Guacamole - ScienceDirect
  • Successful management of Listeria spp. in an avocado processing facility - ScienceDirect
  • 334. Snacklebox — Risky or Not?
  • The other James Marsden - Wikipedia
August 30, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Avocados, Listeria, Sanitation

503. Cracking an Egg on Your Kids Head

August 28, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cracking an egg on your kids head.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • I know you have covered raw eggs many times on RoN - Twitter Search / X
  • Egg crack😂 #eggcrack #eggprank #funny #baby #kid #kids #babies #fun #... | egg cracking prank | TikTok
  • Risk Assessment for Salmonella Enteritidis in Eggs and Egg Products | Food Safety and Inspection Service
August 28, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Eggs, Salmonella, TikTok

502. Food When the Power Is Out for 40 Hours

August 25, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks eating food from the refrigerator when the power has been out for 40 hours.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Food Safety During Power Outage | FoodSafety.gov
  • Emergency Action Plan for Retail Food Establishment | Conference-Developed Guides and Documents | Conference for Food Protection
  • Ben Chapman on X: "@cathybrigham Do you have a thermometer to check the temp of foods? I’d say that by tomorrow the cooked food leftovers will be risky by tomorrow if you find that the food is in the 50s." / X
  • NCSU Keep or toss Power Outage 2021
  • Most Americans are not prepared to ensure food safety during power outages and other emergencies


August 25, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Time temperature control for safety, Power outage

501. Picking Your Nose

August 23, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of picking your nose with respect to COVID-19 and other risks

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Why not to pick your nose: Association between nose picking and SARS-CoV-2 incidence, a cohort study in hospital health care workers | PLOS ONE
  • TWiV 1034: Clinical update with Dr. Daniel Griffin | This Week in Virology
  • Nose Picking and Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus aureus | Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology | Cambridge Core
August 23, 2023 /Don Schaffner
COVID-19, Nose picking, Staphylococcus aureus

DALL·E - A cake with 500 candles inside a cardboard box

500. Mail Order Cakes Shipped at Room Temperature

August 21, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming cakes shipped at room temperature that recommend refrigeration or freezing on receipt.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Smart Baking Company - Official Site
  • About - Smart Baking Company
  • POLICIES - Smart Baking Company
  • Sesame SmartBun 4-pack - Smart Baking Company
  • STORE LOCATOR - Smart Baking Company
August 21, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Time temperature control for safety, Cake, Baked goods

DALL·E - A pile of raw chicken on top of a bowl of uncooked rice inside an open rice cooker

499. Cooking Raw Chicken in a Rice Cooker

August 18, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking raw chicken in a rice cooker.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Need an Idea for Easy Meal Prep? Make Dinner in Your Rice Cooker. - Eater
  • I’m all about low effort dishes that taste amazing.. and this is one o... | Rice Cooker Recipes | TikTok
  • 31: Rice Left in a Warming Rice Cooker Over Night — Risky or Not?
  • USDA FSIS Appendix A
  • Veronica (@squirrelchomp) / X
  • Chicken Dry Curry | Zojirushi.com
  • Rice Cooker Chicken and Soy Sauce Rice - Jasmine and Tea
August 18, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Salmonella, Chicken, Rice cooker

DALL·E - Open half empty can of chicken noodle soup sitting on a countertop. Note that DALL·E totally invented the spoon, which was not part of the prompt.

498. Room Temperature Canned Chicken Noodle Soup

August 16, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming canned chicken noodle soup without heating.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Bon Vivant Voluntarily Recalls All Vichyssoise From Dealers - The New York Times
  • Acidified and Low-Acid Food Regulatory Requirements
  • Better Process Control School - Consumer Brands Association
  • Botulism Associated with Commercially Canned Chili Sauce --- Texas and Indiana, July 2007
  • Marie Antoinette - Wikipedia
August 16, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Low acid canned foods, Botulism, Soup

DALL·E - Unopened Carton of Heavy Cream Almost 3 Weeks Past It's Expiration Date in an empty refrigerator in the style of Edward Hopper

497. Unopened Carton of Heavy Cream Almost 3 Weeks Past It's Expiration Date

August 14, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of consuming heavy cream from an unopened carton almost 3 weeks past it's expiration date.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • 🇺🇸 Bobby Blue Byrd 🇺🇦 on Twitter: "@pdnell @gastropoda What say you @bugcounter @benjaminchapman ? https://t.co/G4RrFHGOIN" / X
  • Short communication: Bacterial ecology of high-temperature, short-time pasteurized milk processed in the United States - ScienceDirect
  • Sudden Death of a Young Adult Associated with Bacillus cereus Food Poisoning - PMC
  • National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) Dashboard | CDC
  • Don's Milk Shelf Life Article


August 14, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Cream, Dairy, Shelf life, Bacillus
Image of corn in a dishwasher from the OP. DALL·E could not figure this one out

496. Dishwasher Corn

August 11, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of blanching corn in the dishwasher prior to freezing.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • HAPPY IN HORTON: this may sound "CORNY" to you....
  • Food Safety Talk 198: Very Old Molasses (with Rachael Jackson) — Food Safety Talk
  • Safety Data Sheet Jet Dry
  • NTP Technical Report on the Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Technical Grade Sodium Xylenesulfonate
  • Microwave Corn on the Cob in Husk - No Messy Silk! - The Dinner-Mom


August 11, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Corn, Dishwasher, Jet Dry, Toxicology, Sodium Xylenesulfonate

DALL·E - Porridge containing lots of Frozen Berries in an open Microwave oven

495. Frozen Berries in Microwaved Porridge

August 09, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of making porridge with frozen berries in the microwave.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • 122. Frozen Berry Smoothies — Risky or Not?
  • Estimation of Bacteriophage MS2 Inactivation Parameters During Microwave Heating of Frozen Strawberries - ScienceDirect


August 09, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Berries, Viruses, Microwave, Porridge

DALL·E - a dirty hand in a clear vinyl glove

494. Gloves Without Handwashing

August 07, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from wearing gloves without washing your hands first.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Glove Barriers to Bacterial Cross-Contamination between Hands to Food - ScienceDirect
  • Evaluation of glove type on survival and transfer of Escherichia coli in model systems and during hand harvesting of lettuce - Zhao - 2021 - JSFA reports - Wiley Online Library
  • Scientific Evidence Supports the Use of Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers as an Effective Alternative to Hand Washing in Retail Food and Food Service Settings When Heavy Soiling Is Not Present on Hands - ScienceDirect
  • FDA Food Code | FDA
  • Hand Washing & Glove Use for Food Workers - Questions and Answers
  • Money and transmission of bacteria | Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control | Full Text
  • Merlin Mann coined, or at least heavily uses the phrase "turns out journalism" w... | Hacker News
August 07, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Gloves, Handwashing

493. Visiting a Fish Market

August 04, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from visting a fish market.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Don Schaffner 🦠 on Twitter: "Visiting a fish market, #RiskyorNot @benjaminchapman?" / X
  • 290. Yeeting a Real Fish Into a Crowd — Risky or Not?
  • Best in Show (4/11) Movie CLIP - Naming Nuts (2000) HD - YouTube


August 04, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Fish, Seafood, Pathogens

DALL·E - a little Baked Potato sitting in a white slow cooker on a countertop in a kitchen

492. Slow Cooker Baked Potatoes With No Water

August 02, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from making a baked potato in a slow cooker without added water.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Carnac the Magnificent - Wikipedia
  • Food Talk, UGA SNAP-Ed on Twitter: "Easily make slow-cooker baked potatoes, no water needed. 1. clean potato, 2. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper, 3. Place potatoes on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours. Add chives and greek yogurt (a low-fat, high-protein substitute for sour cream). https://t.co/fVBGUFf4dM" / X
  • Slow cookers and food safety | UMN Extension
  • Counting-out game - Wikipedia
August 02, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Potatoes, Slow cooker, Botulism

DALL·E - a worried pig standing next to a grill with three potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil

491. Foil Wrapped Smoked Potatoes

July 31, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from cooking potatoes cooked in a smoker.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Tastee Sub Shop · Apple Maps
  • Tastee Freez - The Original Soft Serve Ice Cream
  • What was the Double E Warren Zevon referred to?
  • Large Outbreak of Botulism: The Hazardous Baked Potato | The Journal of Infectious Diseases | Oxford Academic
  • Restaurant-Associated Type a Botulism: Transmission by Potato Salad | American Journal of Epidemiology | Oxford Academic
  • Conservative prediction of time to Clostridium botulinum toxin formation for use with time-temperature indicators to ensure the safety of foods - PubMed
  • Sleater-Kinney
  • Parameters Determining Inoculated Pack Challenge Study
July 31, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Potatoes, Botulism, Smoker

490. Extended Refrigerated Storage of Thawed Frozen Pizza Dough

July 28, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating pizza made from refrigerated thawed frozen pizza dough stored for at least 2 weeks in the fridge.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Validation of baking as a kill-step for controlling Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli during traditional crust pizza baking process - PMC
  • Frozen pizza suspected in 10-state E coli outbreak | CIDRAP
  • Investigation of Outbreak of Human Infections Caused by E. coli O157:H7 | E. coli CDC
  • Survival and growth of foodborne bacterial pathogens in fermenting dough of wadi, a legume-based indigenous food - PMC
July 28, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Pizza, Dough, Refrigerated storage

489. Dim Sum from Bamboo Steamers

July 26, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating dim sum from bamboo steamer.

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Dim sum - Wikipedia
  • National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) Dashboard | CDC
  • After the pandemic left them empty, dim sum restaurants are bustling once again : NPR
  • No need to clean bamboo steamer
  • Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Dim Sum Chain in Shanghai – Thatsmags.com
  • Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight - YouTube
  • Nearly 100 People Sickened After Attending Philadelphia Banquet | Food Safety News
  • IAFP meeting Tampa 2017
July 26, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Dim sum, Physical hazard, Wood, Cross-contamination

488. DALL·E - Small boy harvesting mussels from a lake in the style of Norman Rockwell

488. Eating Boiled Freshwater Mussels From Lake Winnisquam, New Hampshire

July 24, 2023 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating boiled freshwater mussels from Lake Winnisquam, New Hampshire

Dr. Don - not risky 👍🏼
Professor Ben - not risky 👍🏼

  • Lake Winnipesaukee - Wikipedia
  • Lake Winnisquam - Wikipedia
  • Advisories | NH Department of Environmental Services
  • Healthy Swimming Mapper | NH Department of Environmental Services
  • FAQs | NH Department of Environmental Services
  • Healthy Swimming Mapper
  • FRI Cyanobacteria Toxins Aug 2011
  • CDC: Norovirus outbreak linked to oysters sickens hundreds across 8 states | FOX8 WGHP
July 24, 2023 /Don Schaffner
Mussels, Shellfish, Fecal coliforms, Cyanobacteria
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