Risky or Not?

A short podcast about everyday risks from germs

  • Episodes
  • About
  • Contact us
  • Subscribe
  • Statistics
  • Merch
  • Search/Tags

DALL·E - An idyllic setting in Los Angeles with a store named 'Cookie Dough Dreams'. The storefront has a warm, inviting atmosphere, painted in soft pastels.

681. Cookie Dough Dreams Raw Cookie Dough

October 16, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating raw cookie dough from Cookie Dough Dreams in LA.

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

  • Never Not Funny – The Jimmy Pardo Podcast.
  • Home - Cookie Dough Dreams
  • Press - Cookie Dough Dreams
  • #1 Organic and #1 Fair Trade Coffee – Death Wish Coffee
  • Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Raw Cookie Dough | CDC
  • New Burbank dessert store serves safe-to-eat cookie batter
  • Heat Treated Flour & Delivery System - SafeGuard® | Ardent Mills
  • Thermal Inactivation of Salmonella enterica and Nonpathogenic Bacterial Surrogates in Wheat Flour by Baking in a Household Oven - ScienceDirect
  • Heat resistance of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli and potential surrogates in wheat flour at two moisture levels - ScienceDirect
October 16, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Raw dough, Flour, Salmonella, Pathogenic E. coli

680. Drinking Single Barrel Bourbon With a Moldy Cork

October 14, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from drinking single barrel bourbon with a cork that looks moldy.

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

  • Corked Wine, Cork Taint, Musty Odours: What to Do
  • Cork taint - Wikipedia
  • Cork looks moldy. Would it still be ok. : r/whiskey
  • Corked whisky - fact or myth? - Whisky and Wisdom
  • What Is Whiskey Fungus and Is it Dangerous? | HowStuffWorks
  • Black Fungal Growth and Distilleries | BYGL
  • Kentucky's Whiskey Fungus Problem Is Out of Control
  • (PDF) Biology of the Whiskey Fungus | James A Scott - Academia.edu
  • Baudoinia compniacensis - Wikipedia
  • https://www.in.gov/health/eph/files/Baudoinia-compniacensis-Fact-Sheet-Final-March-2019.pdf
  • Multilocus DNA sequencing of the whiskey fungus reveals a continental-scale speciation pattern - PMC
  • Whiskey Fungus Smothers Town In Tennessee
October 14, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Bourbon, Mold, Cork

Actual image of actual jar lid

679. Ben's Moldy Strawberry Jam

October 11, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from strawberry jam with black and white colored mold.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • What is the difference between an episode, an arc, and a season/saga? - Quora
  • Write a ten-word story before you reach the finish line | Taskmaster Wiki | Fandom
  • mold - Risky or Not?
  • Food Safety Talk 217: Fruit Forward — Food Safety Talk
  • Home Page - National Center for Home Food Preservation
  • Strawberry Jam Pectin - National Center for Home Food Preservation
  • 663. Eating Foods With Pathogens as Long as You Are Drinking Alcohol — Risky or Not?
  • Distribution of mycotoxins produced by Penicillium spp. inoculated in apple jam and crème fraiche during chilled storage - ScienceDirect
  • Eat or Toss? Is it OK to eat?
  • Home - OFPA - Ontario Food Protection Association
October 11, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Mold, Jelly, Jam

DALL·E - An elderly person with gray hair, wearing glasses, sitting alone at a kitchen table. They are eating a bowl of macaroni and cheese.

678. Immunocompromised Person Eating Mac and Cheese Left at Room Temperature for Two Hours

October 09, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks faced by an immunocompromised person eating mac and cheese left at room temperature for two hours.

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

  • Ed Koch - Wikipedia
  • In Eric Adams Case, Prosecutors Warn of Additional Charges for Him and Defendants - The New York Times
  • Staphylococcus aureus Infection - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
  • Bacillus Cereus - StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf
  • time a spublic health control - Google Search
  • Cooling Uncovered Foods at a Depth of ∼5.1 cm (2 in.) or Less Poses Little Risk of Pathogen Growth - ScienceDirect
October 09, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Immunocompromised, Pasta, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus

DALL·E - An open carton of eggs with several uncracked eggs neatly arranged. One of the eggs in the middle has a small, noticeable crack.

677. Eating a Properly Cooked Egg With a Crack in It

October 07, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from eating a properly cooked egg with a crack in it.

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

  • egg - Risky or Not?
  • Home - American Egg Board
  • Prevalence and characterization of Staphylococcus aureus in raw eggs and it's growth and enterotoxin a production in egg contents - ScienceDirect
  • Methods and Factors That Affect the Measurement of Egg Shell Quality, - ScienceDirect
  • Characterization of bacterial pathogens from egg shell, egg yolk, feed and air samples of poultry houses
October 07, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Egg, Salmonella, Cracked egg

DALL·E - A detailed image of a glass of beer with an inverted beer bottle standing in the glass. The glass is frosty, with golden beer filling it to the brim.

676. Drinking Beer When the Bottle Has Been in Contact With the Beer

October 04, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks drinking beer from glasses when the bottle has been inside the glass and in contact with the beer.

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

  • Cocktail School | Especially if the bottle is dirty Via: unknown | Instagram
  • Survival of Foodborne Pathogens in Low and Nonalcoholic Craft Beer - ScienceDirect
  • Survival of Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria (Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, and Listeria monocytogenes) and Bacillus cereus Spores in Fermented Alcoholic Beverages (Beer and Refined Rice Wine) - ScienceDirect
  • Beer‐spoilage characteristics of Staphylococcus xylosus newly isolated from craft beer and its potential to influence beer quality - Yu - 2019 - Food Science & Nutrition - Wiley Online Library
  • Best gas station beer? : r/beer
October 04, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Beer, Cross-contamination

DALL·E - A man doing pushups in a busy public gym, with other people working out in the background on various machines and free weights. The man is in a plank with a chicken on his back.

675. Working Out in a Gym With a Live Chicken

October 02, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from working out in a gym with a live chicken.

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

  • Monmouth University
  • CDC warns of Salmonella outbreaks linked to backyard poultry flocks | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC
  • Risk factors for Salmonella persistence after cleansing and disinfection in French broiler-chicken houses - ScienceDirect
  • 611. Eating at a Restaurant Under a Bridge — Risky or Not?
  • 535. Adults Eating at Picnic Tables With a Little Bit of Dried Bird Poop — Risky or Not?
October 02, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Gym, Chicken, Cross-contamination

DALL·E - An open can of soup placed on a concrete public staircase in summer. The scene shows sunlight casting shadows, with a few flies buzzing around the can.

674. Open Can of Soup Outdoors in the Summer for More Than a Day

September 30, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of food poisoning from an open can of soup on public stairway in the midwest summer for more than a day.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

September 30, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Soup, Airborne contamination, time temperature control for safety food

673. Ramen

September 27, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from ramen based on a TikTok warning.

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

  • ramen recalled | TikTok
  • PolitiFact | CDC hasn’t warned about deadly ramen noodles, despite social media claims
  • about the ramen recalls : r/ramen
  • Ramen noodles 5 kids lost is this real contaminated food dangerous foo... | Ramen Noodles Recall Alert | TikTok
September 27, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Ramen, TikTok

DALL·E - A person furiously chopping a carrot on a plastic cutting board. The person is in an intense stance with exaggerated chopping motions, and pieces of the cutting board are flying.

672. Plastic Cutting Boards Because of Microplastics

September 25, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from microplastics from cutting boards.

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

  • Cutting Boards: An Overlooked Source of Microplastics in Human Food? | Environmental Science & Technology
  • Microplastic Contamination of Chicken Meat and Fish through Plastic Cutting Boards - PubMed
  • Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Foods | FDA
  • Human Consumption of Microplastics | Environmental Science & Technology
  • Environmental exposure to microplastics: An overview on possible human health effects - ScienceDirect
September 25, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Microplastics, Cutting boards

DALL·E - An elderly man with wrinkles and white hair, dressed in full kayaking gear including a life jacket, helmet, and paddling gloves, jumping enthusiastically under a ceiling fan.

671. Older Man Kayaking With Fresh Wounds in Water Which Regularly Fails Coliform Tests

September 23, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of kayaking with fresh wounds in water which regularly fails coliform tests while elderly.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Kayaking - Wikipedia
  • Paddle Board vs. Kayak: Which should you buy? | THURSO SURF
  • Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership | Sharing information about New Jersey’s Lower Raritan Watershed.


September 23, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Water, Coliforms, Wound infection

DALL·E - A close-up view of an open grill with a piece of salmon resting on a wooden plank. The wooden plank is visibly aged and covered in patches of green mold

670. Cooking Salmon on Moldy Cedar Planks

September 20, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating salmon cooked on moldy cedar planks.

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

  • Sprouts 3.5 X 7 Cedar Plank | Shop Online, Shopping List, Digital Coupons | Sprouts Farmers Market
  • The fate of mycotoxins during thermal food processing - Kabak - 2009 - Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture - Wiley Online Library
  • Stability of mycotoxins during food processing - ScienceDirect
  • Microbial Safety of Wood in Contact with Food: A Review - Aviat - 2016 - Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety - Wiley Online Library
September 20, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Mold, Wood, Grilling

DALL·E - An automatic dishwasher with the door open, filled to capacity with plates, cups, and silverware. All the dishes and silverware are densely packed and moldy.

669. Items Washed Twice in a Festered Moldy Dishwasher

September 18, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating off plates covered in mold after they were washed twice in an automatic dishwasher on the sanitize cycle.

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

  • Method to Evaluate Factors Influencing the Microbial Reduction in Domestic Dishwashers | Journal of Applied Microbiology | Oxford Academic
  • How to Clean a Dishwasher of Mold and Other Suspicious Stains | Reviews by Wirecutter
September 18, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Dishwasher, Mold

DALL·E - A detailed image of an open microwave oven with food splatters all over the interior. The food splatter is visibly unclean, with bits of food and sauce.

668. Using a Microwave Because They Are Contaminated With Bacteria

September 16, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of cooking foods in microwaves because of cross-contamination from the cavity.

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

  • Frontiers | The microwave bacteriome: biodiversity of domestic and laboratory microwave ovens
  • Can you use the plastic cake covers you get at the store and use them as microwave covers? - Quora
September 16, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Microwaves, Cross-contamination

DALL·E - A close-up view of a slow cooker filled with beans, where the beans are arranged in two different colors to form a skull and crossbones pattern.

667. Cooking Dry Beans in Slow Cookers

September 13, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from cooking dry beans in slow cookers.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Chow Line: Dry kidney beans need to be boiled | CFAES
  • Cooking (and Canning) Kidney Beans
  • Canning Dry Beans: It Matters How They Go in the Jar - National Center for Home Food Preservation
  • FDA Bad Bug Book
  • Toxicity of Kidney Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris) With Particular Reference to Lectins: Journal of Plant Foods: Vol 4, No 1
  • Differentiating the Lectin Activity in Twenty‐Four Cultivars of Dry Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) - KOEHLER - 1986 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Library
September 13, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Dry beans, Slow cookers, Lectin, Phytohemagglutinin
DALL·E - A dark, demonic figure with a menacing presence, featuring sharp, twisted horns and glowing red eyes. The figure is extending a glowing glass filled with a liquid.

DALL·E - A dark, demonic figure with a menacing presence, featuring sharp, twisted horns and glowing red eyes. The figure is extending a glowing glass filled with a liquid.

666. Drinking Alcohol from Uranium Glassware

September 11, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of drinking alcohol from uranium glassware.

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

  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – Helpless Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
  • Conversion: Port Hope | Cameco
  • Port Hope, Ontario - Wikipedia
  • Port Hope Area Initiative - Canadian Nuclear Laboratories
  • Marie Curie - Wikipedia
  • The Black Hole of the Canadian Nuclear Industry
  • Max & Anita Pochon, 1920 | Title: Max & Anita Pochon Accessi… | Flickr
  • Uranium glass - Wikipedia
  • Uranium Glass Bottle - Etsy
  • What to know about collecting uranium glass - The Washington Post
  • Vaseline and Uranium Glass (ca. 1930s) | Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity
  • Leaching of uranium from glass and ceramic foodware and decorative items - PubMed
  • Dan McClellan (@maklelan) | TikTok
  • #maklelan666 | TikTok
  • (#maklelan1854 #markofthebeast | TikTok
  • SLAYER To Release 6/6/06 T-Shirt, Limited To 666 Units, Priced At $16.66 - BLABBERMOUTH.NET
September 11, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Uranium, Radiation, Ethanol

DALL·E - A realistic image of a cut avocado wrapped in plastic wrap, sitting on a kitchen counter. The kitchen counter is dimly lit, indicating it's the middle of the night.

665. Leaving a Cut Unripe Avocado at Room Temperature for a Day

September 09, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks from leaving a cut unripe avocado at room temperature for a day.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street | Recipes, TV and Cooking Tips
  • America's Test Kitchen: Recipes & Reviews You Can Trust | Stream Every Episode | America’s Test Kitchen
  • Richard Kimble | The Fugitive Wiki | Fandom
  • Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and Indicator Microorganisms on Hass Avocados Sold at Retail Markets in Guadalajara, Mexico - ScienceDirect
  • Behaviors of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes on whole avocado during storage at 21 or 7°C and their reduction by aqueous chlorine dioxide and peroxyacetic acid - ScienceDirect
  • Effect of storage temperature and time on the behavior of Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, and background microbiota on whole fresh avocados (Persea americana var Hass) - ScienceDirect
  • Survival of Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli O157:H7, and Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat “Guacamole”: Role of Added Antimicrobials - PMC
  • Quality variables of “Hass” avocado stored in modified atmosphere packaging
September 09, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Avocado, Salmonella, Listeria, Time temperature control for safety food

DALL·E - A dimly lit restaurant at night, with all the chairs placed upside down on the tables. The restaurant has a slightly dirty and unkempt appearance.

664. Putting Chairs on a Sanitized Restaurant Table

September 06, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks posed to diners when chairs are placed on sanitized tables.

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

  • Consumer Perceptions, Pathogen Detection, and Removal Rate Determination in Market-style Restaurants
  • A Survey of Microbial Contamination on Restaurant Nonfood‐Contact Surfaces - Patel - 2017 - Journal of Food Safety - Wiley Online Library
  • Are Ball Pits the Playground for Potentially Harmful Bacteria? - Document - Gale Academic OneFile
September 06, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Restaurant, Cross-contamination, Chairs, Tables

DALL·E - A person sitting at a table eating a rare hamburger. The person looks slightly nauseous, possibly due to the undercooked meat. They are holding a beer.

663. Eating Foods With Pathogens as Long as You Are Drinking Alcohol

September 04, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of eating pathogen laden food while drinking alcohol.

Dr. Don - risky ☣️
Professor Ben - risky ☣️

  • ཨ་རིའི་གླུ་མ་ Amalia སེང་འབྲུག་མཚོ། | #foodsafety #health #sterilization #sanitization #lifehack | Instagram
  • Epidemiology
  • The protective effect of alcohol on the occurrence of epidemic oyster-borne hepatitis A - PubMed
  • Bellido-Blasco: The protective effect of alcoholic... - Google Scholar
  • Wine is Bactericidal to Foodborne Pathogens - Møretrø - 2004 - Journal of Food Science - Wiley Online Library
  • The antimicrobial effect of wine on Listeria innocua in a model stomach system - ScienceDirect
  • When beer is safer than water: Beer availability and mortality from waterborne illnesses - ScienceDirect
  • The Claim: Drinking Alcohol With a Meal Prevents Food Poisoning - The New York Times
  • ALCOHOLIC DRINK CUTS HEALTH RISK IN OYSTERS – Orlando Sentinel
  • Betteridge's law of headlines - Wikipedia
September 04, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Alcohol, Foodborne Disease

DALL·E - A detailed scene of a person sitting at a bar, holding a drink with a surprised expression on their face. The drink in front of them has a human toe.

662. Enjoying a Sourtoe Cocktail

September 02, 2024 by Don Schaffner

Dr. Don and Professor Ben talk about the risks of drinking a cocktail made with a mummified toe.

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

  • The history of the Sourtoe Cocktail: a shot of whiskey garnished with a human toe | Short Docs
  • Food Safety Talk 176: Bug Book — Food Safety Talk
  • Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal | Short Docs
September 02, 2024 /Don Schaffner
Alcohol, Mummified tissue
  • Newer
  • Older

Powered by Squarespace